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LIFE AND TIMES 



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THOMAS CRANMER. 



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THE 



LIFE AND TIMES 



OF 



THOMAS CRANMER. 



BY THE AUTHOR OF ''THREE EXPERIMENTS OF LIVING, 
"LIFE AND TIMES OF MARTIN LUTHER," &C. 



\p^W\j>g^Y 




BOSTON: 

MILLIARD, GRAY, AND COMPANY. 
1841. 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and 
forty, by Harrison Gray, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of 
the District of Massachusetts. 





CAMBRIDGE : 

STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY 

FOLSOM, WELLS, AND THURSTON, 

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 



INSCRIBED 



TO THE 



Hon. DANIEL APPLETON WHITE, 



BY HIS FRIEND 



THE AUTHOR. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The object of the following biography is 
not to present any new views or new facts 
in the life of Cranmer. The path is a beat- 
en one, and so much has been said on this 
subject, that it may seem useless to add 
another volume to those which can already 
be collected. But who collects them, or 
who looks into the old books of Fox, or 
hunts out Strype's " Memorials " 7 Or who, 
we will yet venture to ask, is familiar with 
the events of Cranmer's life? The same 
hope, which animated the author of "Luther 
and his Times," has stimulated to this at- 
tempt, that others may be sufficiently inter- 
ested in these sketches to induce them to 
study for themselves the histories of the Ger- 
man and the English reformation. Artists, 
by taking different positions, give different 



Vlll ADVERTISEMENT. 

views of the same subject, and present us 
with a variety of pictures, equally true to 
nature. In leaving out all polemical con- 
troversy and abstruse doctrines, and mere- 
ly viewing Cranmer as connected with the 
men of his times, we have sought to draw 
a picture for those who have not leisure or 
inclination to compose one for themselves. 
As it is foreign to our plan to introduce 
the dull formality of notes, we mention here 
some of the books which have been con- 
sulted in the present work; viz. the old 
(black letter) books of Fox ; Strype's " Me- 
morials of Cranmer" ; Burnet's "History of 
the Reformation," with the documents ap- 
pended; Le Bas's "Life of Cranmer," and 
also Gilpin's ; Hume's, Smollet's, and Lin- 
gard's Histories of England. Other books 
on the subject have been at hand, and in- 
formation has been derived from miscella- 
neous publications. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 



CHAPTER I. 



Henry the Eighth ascended the throne in 
1509, at the age of eighteen. His father, Henry 
the Seventh, had left him a well filled treasury, a 
kingdom at peace with all the world, loyal sub- 
jects, and experienced ministers. 

Henry united in himself the claims of Lan- 
caster and York. Nature had given him personal 
beauty, and he was educated in the learning of 
the times. Had that learning been such as the 
education of modern times presents to the youth- 
ful and ardent mind, a wholly different character 
might have been formed. But he was doomed to 
pass his early days in the study of abstruse the- 
ological questions, considering learning as the 
field of polemical debate, and early enlisting un- 
der the banners of Thomas Aquinas. This 
course of education could have but little favorable 
influence in forming his moral character, or in 
cultivating a taste for high and noble pursuits. 
1 



2 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

In manly exercises and in the accomplishments 
of the day, he was said to be well skilled ; but it 
is evident that the theory of self-education had 
never been inculcated upon the mind of the 
youthful King. There is not the distinction, 
which the thoughtless are apt to imagine, between 
the high-born and the low. All have a work to 
accomplish for themselves, which no earthly 
power can accomplish for them. The monarch 
may become the slave of his own vices, and the 
poorest subject a monarch over himself. The 
Universal Father does not give to one of his chil- 
dren bread J to another a stone j but he gives to 
all the power of being virtuous ; and this power 
he has placed in the soul. It is not far that we 
have to seek it, or long to wait for it ; it comes in 
the form of conscience and principle, and, cher- 
ished, springs into action. 

It has been common to ascribe the low pur- 
suits of Henry to the influence of Wolsey, whose 
age and experience undoubtedly gave him domin- 
ion over the mind of his royal master ; but it was 
his knowledge of character that unveiled to him 
the most effectual way of governing him, by feed- 
ing his vanity and administering to his love of 
pleasure. 

We turn with disgust from the mansion of 
Wolsey, the early resort of the King ; from its 
guests, its revelry, its low theatrical exhibitions. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 3 

its Syrens luring to destroy, and can with difficul- 
ty realize, that it was an ecclesiastic, a son of the 
church, who presided over all. 

It is well known how the subserviency of Wol- 
sey was rewarded. He rose from one degree of 
distinction to another, till he became prime min- 
ister. Leo, the Pope, was not slow in discover- 
ing that the minister ruled the king, and sought, 
by conferring honors, to secure the services of 
Wolsey for his own purposes. 

Wolsey's titles multiplied as fast as his am- 
bitious desires. He was made Archbishop of 
York, Bishop of Durham, Abbot of St. Albans, 
Lord Chancellor of England, a Legate for life, a 
Cardinal, and was caressed or feared by all the 
powers of Europe. Ambition is never satisfied, 
till it bestrides the globe. There was another ele- 
vation to which the Cardinal aspired ; and this 
was, to be the hero of the Vatican, the infallible 
head of the church, and to take charge of the 
keys of St. Peter. 

The Emperor of Germany had held out to 
him this last lure ; the only one that could still 
excite his satiated desires. One obstacle, how- 
ever, remained. Leo was as likely to live as 
himself ; and Leo's life was now the only obsta- 
cle. 

It was with no common degree of exultation, 
that Wolsey heard of the sudden death of the 



4 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Pope. The time had arrived, which he had so 
long anticipated. Hitherto, he had been content- 
ed with distinguishing himself by his flowing robes 
of silk and vestments of cloth of gold, by the su- 
perb housings of his horses, by having his cardi- 
nal's hat borne before him on a pillar of silver by 
a person of high rank, and placed on the altar at 
the King's chapel in a reverential manner. His 
two particular attendants were priests, selected 
for their great personal beauty. As the Cardinal 
ascended the steps of the altar, they prostrated 
themselves on each side, while the audience, with 
his fifty personal attendants, stood at a respectful 
distance, not feeling worthy to approach the au- 
gust prelate. 

It was observed, immediately after the news of 
Leo's death arrived, that he appeared with more 
pomp than usual on days of public ceremony. 
The ensigns of his several dignities as Chancellor 
and Legate were borne before him, he was sur- 
rounded by noblemen and prelates, and was fol- 
lowed by a long train of mules, bearing coffers 
on their backs, covered with gold and crimson 
cloth. 

This parade had begun to pall upon his senses, 
for he had already passed " many summers in a 
sea of glory " ; but now, he believed, he had 
reached the zenith of his ambition. His white 
hair was to be crowned by the jewelled tiara, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 5 

and kings and emperors were to acknowledge 
his supremacy. 

As suddenly as Leo's death, arrived the news 
of Adrian's appointment to the Holy See, and 
Wolsey saw himself excluded from the chair of 
St. Peter. 

Through the prosperous vicissitudes of Hen- 
ry's reign, Catharine of Aragon had been the 
partner of his throne. She had commanded his 
respect by her virtues, and borne with his faults 
with a patience and forbearance, that resulted from 
principle and conjugal affection, rather than from 
a gentle and indulgent character. To Wolsey 
she ascribed many of the wanderings of her hus- 
band, and spoke to him freely on the subject. Her 
accusations were severe, and were indignantly re- 
ceived ; she reproached him with ministering to 
the licentious pleasures of the King, and using an 
influence disgraceful to a prelate. 

The haughty and overbearing Cardinal could ill 
endure this language ; and, though he suppressed 
as far as possible his indignation, Catharine was 
conscious he had become her bitter enemy. 

Hitherto Henry had borne in his gay and jovial 
countenance the index of his character. But a 
change seemed to have come over him. His 
face was no longer clothed in smiles ; an expres- 
sion of care and anxiety clouded his brow ; sighs 
frequently arose ; his step became slow and meas- 



6 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

ured. He had taken great delight in tournaments, 
which gratified his taste for magnificence and his 
prowess in arms. All were now forbidden ; and. 
he was usually seen poring over musty parch 
menis, with hose ungartered and head unkempt. 

Henry the Eighth had deviated from the aus 
terity of his father's court. He emulated the ro- 
mantic gallantry of Francis, the French monarch ; 
but it was uncongenial to him, and often his vio- 
lence and impetuosity broke forth, even in the 
presence of the fair ladies of his court, whom 
he most wished to please. This change from a 
gay and dissipated course of amusements excited 
much surprise and conjecture. 

At length he announced the cause, — deep- 
seated scruples of conscience were preying upon 
his health ; he had, after much investigation and 
study, fully convinced himself, that his union with 
Catharine, who had been betrothed to his brother 
Arthur, and whom he had married as the widow of 
that prince, was sinning against the laws of God. 
He had collected many passages of Scripture to 
prove the unholiness of the union, which he said 
was fully demonstrated by their having no male 
heir to the throne, the Princess Mary being their 
only surviving child. 

What must have been Catharine's sensations 
when these scruples were announced to her ; she 
who had been his wife for nearly twenty years ! 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 7 

Her suspicions rested immediately on Wolsey, as 
the instigator of this new-born tenderness of con- 
science. Probably she accused him wrongfully, 
and might better have attributed the whole to the 
caprice of Henry's character. It must be ac- 
knowledged, that the subject had been discussed 
by learned prelates previously to the marriage. 
However little inclined Wolsey was to the Queen, 
there seems to have been no adequate motive for 
thus stirring up his master's conscience. 

About this time, or perhaps a little before it, 
Henry met with Anne Boleyn, the accomplished 
daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn. She had been 
educated in France, and, on her return to Eng- 
land, became maid of honor to the Queen. The 
winning graces of this lady were heightened by 
the polish of a French education, which was al- 
together opposed to the Enghsh. Women in 
England of high rank were usually educated in 
nunneries. They were taught enough of reading 
for religious exercises, but confectionery, needle- 
work, and, what is somewhat surprising, physic 
and surgery, came under the head of female ac- 
complishments. * When removed from these 
seminaries to the houses of their parents, daugh- 
ters were placed standing at the table, where they 
ate their dinners like statues, and were not per- 

* This is proved by a tract written in the last century, 
in the " Antiq. Repertory." 



8 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

milted to sit, though a cushion was usually placed 
before them, on which they were at liberty to 
kneel. It is said, that, even in Sully's time, this 
austerity was prevalent in France, and that he 
used to enjoy rural happiness on a bench in his 
garden, just large enough for himself, while his 
family stood uncovered, facing him.* 

Anne Boleyn's natural vivacity had broken 
through the restraints of the time. Henry, at- 
tracted by her beauty, approached and accosted 
her at a tournament, with visor down, and masked, 
and requested leave to wear her scarf of silver 
tissue. Being, or pretending to be, unconscious 
that the King addressed her, she playfully re- 
pHed ; " Nay, Sir Knight ; do not venture ; it 
was given me by a magician, and whoever wears 
it, becomes my slave for hfe." 

" That, I am, already ; " said the gallant mon- 
arch ; and, forgetting his assumed character, 
reached forth his hand to take it, with royal im- 
punity. 

Anne hastily retreated, saying; "Nay, Sir 
Knight ; were it the King himself, he takes it 
not by force." 

Henry, unable to restrain his impetuosity, drew 
off his mask. Anne, gently sinking on one knee, 
disengaged the silver tissue from her neck, and 
threw it over the arm of the King. 

* This stone bench is preserved at Rosny. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 9 

There is no doubt but his scruples of con- 
science were greatly increased by the charms of 
Anne, blooming in youthful beauty. Catharine 
had never been handsome or fascinating. Time 
had passed heavily over her countenance. She 
had nothing to plead but her faithful and untiring 
love, her loyal devotion to his interest. For 
nearly twenty years she had borne his wanderings 
without reproach ; she was the mother of his 
children, and her heart was bound up in the one 
that Heaven had still spared to them. For a time, 
she resisted the idea that he could separate him- 
self from her ; that he could attach a stigma 
to her name, and proclaim his child illegitimate. 
But the unwelcome truth was at last forced upon 
her. 

Henry now openly soHcited the opinions of the 
most eminent canonists and divines. He com- 
posed treatises himself on the subject, and contin- 
ued to make proselytes. With the nation at large 
his cause was unpopular. A queen is known to 
her subjects. The virtues of Catharine were 
calculated to awaken the interest of the people ; 
her cause was warmly espoused, and, as Wolsey 
in all other things had been the director of Hen- 
ry's conscience, it was naturally supposed he was 
so in this ; and their hatred towards the haughty 
and domineering Cardinal was greatly increased. 
It is said, however, that, when he first announced 



10 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

his intention to Wolsey of marrying Anne Boleyn, 
the minister received the information with grief 
and dismay. 

" I beseech your Majesty," said he, falling upon 
his knees, " to remember the disparity of her birth. 
I confess to you, that I have given hopes, that, 
when the divorce is accomphshed, you will place 
the crown upon the head of a French princess, 
and thereby secure the King of France for a 
warm ally. Let this Syren retire from the court, 
and do not bring upon yourself the disgrace that 
will follow." 

"Ha! is it so?" exclaimed Henry; ''by 
my kingdom, the loons are right ; this man will 
be king." 

Wolsey, startled at the anger of his master, 
and aware that on this point he brooked no oppo- 
sition, changed his tone at once, and, as if over- 
come by sudden conviction, promised to afford all 
his aid to the royal cause. To prove his zeal, 
he suggested to Henry the propriety of giving a 
magnificent entertainment at Greenwich, nominal- 
ly in honor of foreign ambassadors, but in reahty 
to facilitate his suit with Anne. The Queen was 
splendidly dressed ; but her diamonds covered an 
aching heart. A spectator of the scene has left 
his testimony of the effect produced on himself 
by the females. " They seemed to all men to be 
rather celestial angels, descended from heaven, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. H 

than flesh and bone. Surely to me, simple soul, 
it was inestimable." * 

Anne was dressed with great simphcity ; her 
beautiful hair braided and fastened with ribbands. 
She won many hearts, hitherto rebellious, by her 
modest deportment. Three hundred lances were 
broken before supper ; in the evening, the com- 
pany withdrew to the ball-room, where they were 
entertained with an oration and songs, a fight at 
barriers, and the dancing of maskers. About 
midnight, the King, with six others, retired and 
dressed themselves as Venetian noblemen, and 
returned and selected ladies for the dance. Anne 
Boleyn was Henry's partner. 

It may not be uninteresting to describe the 
dresses of the King and Queen Catharine, as giv- 
en by an historian of the day at their coronation. 

" His grace wared in his upperst apparels a 
robe of crimsyn velvet, furred with armyns ; his 
jacket or cote of raised gold ; the placard em- 
broidered with diamonds, rubies, emeraudes, 
greate pearles, and other riche stones ; a greate 
bauderike (collar) aboute his necke, of large bal- 
asses (rubies). 

" The Quene was appareled in white satyn 
embrodered ; her hair hangyng down to her 
backe, of a very greate lengthe, bewtefull and 

* Cavendish. 



1\^ CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

goodly to behold, and on her hedde a coronall, 
set with many riche Orient stones." 

Alas ! poor Catharine ! she then little thought 
that the superb coronal was, during her lifetime, 
to be placed on the head of another. 

In the reign of Henry the Eighth, great pro- 
gress had been made in the fashion of dress. 
During the reign of Henry the Seventh, it was 
grotesque and fantastic, and is thus described by 
the same historian. 

" Over the breeches was worn a petticoat ; the 
doublet was laced like the stays of a woman, 
across a stomacher, and a gown or mantle with 
wide sleeves descended over the doublet and pet- 
ticoat down to the ancles. Commoners were 
satisfied, instead of a gown, with a frock or tunic, 
shaped like a shirt, gathered at the middle, and 
fastened round the loins by a girdle, from which a 
short dagger was generally suspended. But the 
petticoat was rejected after the accession of Hen- 
ry the Eighth, and trousers or tight garments that 
displayed the symmetry of the limbs, were re- 
vived, and the length of the doublet and mantle 
diminished. The fashions which the great have 
discarded are often retained by the lower orders, 
and the form of the tunic, or Saxon garment, 
may be still discovered in the wagoner's frock ; 
of the trause, and perhaps of the petticoat, in the 
different trousers that are worn by seamen. These 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 13 

habits were again diversified by minute decora- 
tions and changes of fashion. From an opinion 
that corpulence contributes to dignity, the doublet 
was puckered and distended around the body ; 
and the sleeves were swelled into large ruffs. 
The doublet and breeches were sometimes slash- 
ed, and, with the addition of a short cloak and a 
stiffened cap, resembled the national dress of the 
Spaniards. Among gentlemen, long hair was 
fashionable, till Henry cut off his own, and or- 
dered his courtiers to 'poll their heads.' He al- 
so made sumptuary laws, to regulate the inordi- 
nate dress of his subjects. Cloth of gold or tis- 
sue was reserved for dukes and marquises ; if of 
a purple color, for the royal family. Silks and 
velvets were restricted to commoners of wealth 
and distinction ; but embroidery was interdicted 
from all beneath the degree of an earl. Instead 
of pockets, a loose pouch was worn at the gir- 
dle." 



14 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 



CHAPTER II. 

WoLSEY afterwards gave an entertainment to 
the ambassadors. " The company were sum- 
moned by a trumpet to supper, and the courses 
were announced by a prelude of music. The 
second course contained upwards of a hundred 
devices of subtilties ; castles, churches, animals, 
warriors jousting on foot and on horseback ; oth- 
ers dancing with ladies ; all as well counterfeited 
as the painter should have painted on a cloth or 
wall." 

Such entertainments were not of short dura- 
tion ; the dinner hour was eleven in the forenoon, 
the supper six in the evening ; but the dinner was 
often prolonged till supper, and that protracted 
till late at night. Breakfast consisted of brawn, 
jellies, sweetmeats, ale, brandy, and spiced wine. 
Wolsey dined with a state that even the nobility 
did not assume. His table was elevated fifteen 
steps at the upper end of the hall, and, in serving 
his dinner, the monks at every fifth step sung a 
hymn. He sat at the middle of the table, to 
the ends of which his guests of distinguished 
rank were admitted ; and the monks, after their 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 15 

attendance was over, sat dovm to tables at the 
sides of the hall, and were served with similar 
respect by the novices. 

When we hear of kings and emperors, we natu- 
rally attach something of the luxury of the present 
times to our idea of their style of hving. If we 
go back, however, to ancient records, royalty is 
stripped of its pageantry. Margaret, on her 
marriage with James the Fourth, made her pubhc 
entry into Edinburgh, riding behind her consort 
on a pillion. Hampton Court, which was built by 
Wolsey, and presented to Henry the Eighth, af- 
fords no description of elegant furniture. Hen- 
ry's chamber would, in the present day, have 
strangely contrasted with our common sleeping- 
rooms. We do not read of any carpet. Prob- 
ably the floor was strewed with clean rushes ; 
and these were a luxury, if we take Erasmus's 
description of English habits. He says ; "Their 
floors are composed of clay, and covered with 
sand or rushes, foul and loathsome ; " and he even 
goes so far as to attribute the visitations of the 
plague to this cause. A bed, a cupboard, a 
joint-stool, a small mirror, and a large pair of 
andirons, were the only furniture of the regal 
apartment. 

When we are told of Henry's love of chivalry, 
of his jousts and tournaments, we must not asso- 
ciate with his habits or manners the romantic 



16 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

gallantry of the troubadours, or even of his con- 
temporary Francis. The fair sex were not in- 
vested by his imagination with spiritual beauty. 
He considered them as born for his amusement 
and pleasure. Even when aiming at the char- 
acter of a preux chevalier^ he could not control 
the impetuosity of his temper. A slight opposi- 
tion to his royal wishes stripped him of his as- 
sumed disguise, and discovered at once that he 
considered the lady of his homage in no other 
light than the creature of his will. Who at this 
crisis does not tremble for Anne Boleyn. Edu- 
cated among a nation whose morals were essen- 
tially defective, full of natural gayety, conscious 
of her charms, and conceahng in her heart that 
ambition and that love of splendor which are fatal 
to the truth and tenderness of the female character, 
she had, however, one safeguard remaining. She 
was attached to Percy ; and it was necessary that 
the tyranny of the King should be exerted to 
prevent their intercourse. The parents were 
compelled to oppose the union ; and, when Percy 
married another, in compliance with his father's 
commands, Anne lost the security she had de- 
rived from virtuous affection. 

There cannot be a more melancholy picture 
to contemplate, than the history of this winning 
and thoughtless girl. Had Henry found no 
other agents for his cause than his fascinations, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 17 

either of mind or person, she would have trod the 
mazes of a court with a firm and dignified step ; 
but, in her own secret ambition, he discovered an 
effectual promoter of his wishes. When we find 
such encomiums as the following passed upon her 
by her advocates, we cannot but fear, that she at 
once understood and favored the suit of the King. 

^'' He liked to try of what temper the regard 
of her honor was, which, he finding not any way 
to be tainted with those things his kingly majestie 
and means could bringe to the batterie, he in the 
end fell to win her by treaty of marriage ; and 
in this talk took from her a ring and that ware 
upon his littel finger ; yet al this with such a se- 
cresie was carried, and on her part so wisely, as 
none or verie few esteemed this other than an or- 
dinarie course of dalliance." 

Letters from the King, written in French, to 
Anne Boleyn, were stolen from her, and convey- 
ed to the Vatican at Rome. Copies of them 
were procured by Bishop Burnet afterwards, and 
have been translated and published.* 

Anne professed to be displeased with the atten- 
tions of the monarch. It was asserted, that " she 
stood stil upon her guard, and was not easily 
taken with all this aparance of happiness : where- 
of two things appeared to be the causes : the one, 

* Appendix to Burnet's "History of the Reformation." 

2 



18 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

the love she bore ever to the Queen, whom she 
served, that was also a personage of greate virtue ; 
the other, her conceit, that this was not that free- 
dom of conjunction with one that was her lord 
and king, as with one more agreeable to her." 

The rumor of Henry's intended divorce must 
have early reached her ear ; and, if she aspired 
to the throne, she must have been sensible, that 
she could only obtain it, by the total ruin of 
Catharine's happiness. To resist the royal suit, 
however, seems to have been beyond her moral 
strength. Nor can we be surprised, when we 
reflect that "images of splendor and greatness 
were the objects first presented to her infant eyes ; 
and it was one of the earliest lessons imprinted 
on her mind, that they could scarcely be obtained 
at too dear a price." 

Catharine soon perceived the secret intelligence 
between her husband and Anne. Her observa- 
tion, when she was playing at cards with the 
young beauty, has been recorded. It was a rule 
in the play to stop on turning up a king or queen. 
It came to Anne's luck often to stop at a king, 
upon which the Queen said, somewhat pointedly ; 
" My lady Anne, you have good luck to stop at 
a king ; but you are not like others ; you will 
have all or none.''^ 

The time soon arrived when the unhappy 
queen could no longer be ignorant or doubtful ; 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 19 

yet she seems to have conducted towards her ri- 
val with gentleness and dignity. 

Wolsey was placed in a most perplexing dilem- 
ma. Ignorant, at first, of the King's desire to 
seat Anne upon the throne, and supposing the 
pleasure he tooii in her society was merely a light 
affair of dalliance, he prepared great banquets and 
high feasts, to entertain the King with her at his 
own house. Catharine could not but be inform- 
ed of the Cardinal's subserviency to his master's 
wishes, and her dislike towards him was greatly 
heightened by this conduct. Anne for a time 
seems to have considered him her warm friend ; 
and copies of her letters to him are still extant, in 
which such expressions as the following are fre- 
quently interspersed ; " And next unto the King's 
grace, of one thing I make you full promise to 
be assured to have it, and that is, my hearty love 
unfeignedly during my life." 

When the King first communicated his inten- 
tion of raising Anne to the throne, the Cardinal 
received the intelligence with evident dismay. 
Her disposition to favor the Lutheran cause was 
openly avowed. She had sometimes seriously, 
and sometimes playfully, argued with the King 
against the mother church. Wolsey's pride, too, 
was incensed at the idea of acknowledging for 
his royal mistress, one whom he considered as 
in an inferior station ; yet he too well knew 



20 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

his master's humor to venture any open opposi- 
tion. 

By his activity in procuring the divorce, he had 
felt entitled to be consulted about another alliance. 
Henry was loo determined, or too wary, to trust 
him with his secret, and Wolsey found, that, 
while he had been promoting what he considered 
an affair of gallantry, he had, in reality, been ele- 
vating Anne to the throne. 

There is one circumstance which cannot be 
omitted, as it had a tendency to increase Wolsey 's 
aversion to the marriage. Anne was constantly in 
the habit of reading heretical books, which had 
been proscribed by Cardinal Wolsey, and she usu- 
ally marked those passages that most excited her 
admiration. These were generally opposed to the 
Catholic persuasion. A book, thus marked, was 
purloined from her apartment and carried to 
Wolsey. He, now believing the ruin of the 
young heretic certain, dehvered it in triumph to 
Henry. So far from expressing indignation, the 
King not only pardoned her, but consented to 
look over the book with her. 

The delay, which the Pope threw in the way 
of the divorce, is well known. When he could 
no longer protract his interference, he despatched 
Cardinal Campeggio to the English court, and at 
length the King and Queen were summoned, and 
the trial commenced. Part of the noble speech 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 21 

of the Queen is faithfully given by the immortal 
bard, and too well known to need a repetition ; 
but she goes on to say ; 

*' The King, your father, was a man of such 
an excellent wit in his time, that he was recounted 
a second Solomon ; and the King of Spain, my 
father, Ferdinand, was taken for one of the wisest 
kings that reigned in Spain these many years. So 
they were both wise men and noble princes ; and 
it is no question but they had wise counsellors of 
either realm, as be now at this day, who thought 
not, at the marriage of you and me, to hear wdiat 
new devices are now invented against me, to stand 
to the order of this court. And I conceive you 
do me much wrong ; nay, you condemn me for 
not answering, having no counsel but such as you 
have assigned me ; you must consider that they 
cannot be indifferent on my part, being your own 
subjects, and such as you have made choice of 
out of your own Council, whereunto they are 
privy, and dare not disclose your pleasure." 

It is well known, that, after she had made her 
protest, she left the court ; and, though summoned 
to return, positively refused. 

The testimony Henry gave to her character, 
after her departure, seems to have been called 
forth by the dignity of her demeanor. " She 
hath been always a true and obedient wife." 

The appeal made by the King to the Pope 



22 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

was highly embarrassing to him. Catharine was 
aunt to the Emperor, Charles the Fifth, whom 
he greatly feared to offend. Of Henry, too, 
who had obtained from Leo the title of " De- 
fender of the Faith," he stood almost equally in 
awe. His only resource was to procrastinate and 
place obstacles in the way. 

Cardinal Campeggio, after his arrival in England, 
used many arguments to persuade the King to re- 
nounce his intentions. At this attempt, Henry 
was greatly enraged, and said, it was evident that 
the Pope had sent him to confirm, rather than an- 
nul, his marriage. Campeggio then showed him a 
bull, in which the Pope had granted the divorce, 
if matters could not be brought to a friendly con- 
clusion. This bull, however, he acknowledged, 
v/as only to be shown to the King and Wolsey, 
and riot to be trusted out of his own hands. He 
entreated the King not to be precipitate in the 
affair, as great advantages might be taken from 
that, by the Queen's party ; that, therefore, it 
was fit to proceed slowly ; but he assured him, 
that the decision would finally be according to 
his wishes. 

At length, after many adjournments, the court 
sat to decide the matter, and Gardiner, who was 
the head of the King's Council, desired sentence 
might be given. Both the King and Anne Bo- 
leyn were sanguine, at this crisis, that no further 
obstacles would be made to their union ; and 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. . 23 

Henry stationed himself in an adjoining room, 
where he could have the pleasure of hearing the 
sentence pronounced. What was his indignation, 
when Campeggio declared, that the court must be 
adjourned till October, (it was then July,) as no 
causes could be heard in vacation time, according 
to the rules of the Consistory of Rome. 

It soon became evident that Wolsey was losing 
confidence and favor with the King, who sus- 
pected that much of this delay arose from his ill 
offices. It does not appear that he had any cause 
for this suspicion ; but, unfortunately for the Car- 
dinal, with all the deception he had practised, he 
was not able to counterfeit upright and undevi- 
ating principle ; and neither the monarch nor the 
favorite could have had much confidence in, or 
respect for, the other. Seven months had passed 
since Campeggio's arrival, and Henry found him- 
self no nearer obtaining a divorce, than when he 
first arrived. Yet his passion for Anne did not 
decline on account of the obstacles placed in his 
path. He took the decisive step of dismissing 
Catharine to Greenwich, and sent for Anne to 
return to the Court. She had judiciously with- 
drawn to her father's house. It was said, that she 
returned with reluctance, and only yielded to the 
entreaties of her father. Henry gave her a splen- 
did establishment, and apartments richly furnished, 
and exacted the utmost deference towards her 
from his courtiers. 



24 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 



CHAPTER III. 

While not only England, but Europe, was 
agitated by this important question of the divorce, 
a minor affair took place in Jesus College, Cam- 
bridge, which excited some attention. 

Thomas Cranmer, a young man of ancient 
family, a fellow of the College, forfeited his fel- 
lowship by his marriage. Though only twenty- 
three, he had distinguished himself by his tal- 
ents, and was much esteemed for the virtues of 
his character. His separation from the College, 
which became necessary according to the reg- 
ulations, was greatly regretted by the friends of 
learning. 

The early education of Cranmer had inured 
him to discipline. The most approved school in 
the neighbourhood was held by the parish-clerk, 
whose manners naturally partook of the rudeness 
and barbarity of the age. To this the boy was 
sent. Though his disposition was mild, and his 
habits studious, he could not escape the tyrannical 
and domineering cruelty of the pedagogue. His 
father, however, did not confine him to the in- 
struction of the school-master, but had him edu- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 25 

cated in gentlemanly exercises, shooting, hunting, 
and hawking. He was also skilled in horseman- 
ship ; and, in mature life, when his dignities and 
honors crowded upon him, he still retained his 
fondness for shooting with the cross-bow, and his 
skill and fearlessness in managing the wildest 
horses. He lost his father early, and, at fourteen, 
his mother sent him to study at Cambridge, in the 
year 1503. 

In reading the history of distinguished men, 
maternal influence is often traced. A widowed 
mother, who consummates her early lessons by 
giving up her only son, her solace and her joy, 
for his advantage, and, perhaps, toils to supply 
the means for his education, unaided and alone, 
not only affords him the best example of disin- 
terestedness, but the strongest incitement to virtue 
and improvement. Cranmer appears to have 
determined to turn to their best uses the opportu- 
nities offered to him ; and, though he was imme- 
diately initiated in the " dark riddles " of the age, 
his own good sense led him at length to a differ- 
ent course of study. Erasmus was a resident in 
the University, and Cranmer soon became famil- 
iar with the works of this accomplished scholar. 
A new impulse was given to his mind. He en- 
tered the walks of ancient and classic literature, 
and made himself master of the Greek and He- 
brew languages. When Cranmer began to write. 



26 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

he earnestly studied his books, and " bent himself 
to try out the truth herein." He read with his 
pen in hand, and constantly marked, or copied 
out, what particularly arrested his attention. The 
intellectual treasures, which he in this way ac- 
quired, were in after life an exhaustless mine of 
wealth. 

Such a young man could not fail of being es- 
teemed ; and, when his marriage, at the age of 
twenty-three, obliged him to relinquish his fellow- 
ship in the College, it was deeply regretted. 
He was solicited, however, to fill a humbler 
place in Buckingham College. Of his marriage, 
there is little recorded. The early death of his 
wife, the same year they were married, left him a 
widower, and, contrary to general usage, he was 
again elected a fellow of his College. 

When Wolsey was selecting men of talents 
and learning for his College at Oxford,* he offered 
Cranmer a fellowship ; but Cranmer declined it, 
and preferred remaining where he was. 

It was about this time that the King, seeking 
to beguile the weariness which arose from the 
postponement of his marriage with Anne Boleyn, 
made several excursions to the country-seats of 
his courtiers. At Mr. Cressy's, in Waltham, a 
town where the King rested, Cranmer was then 
residing with two of that gentleman's sons ; they 

* Wolsey founded Christ Church College. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 27 

were driven from the College by an infectious dis- 
order. Among Henry's attendants, were Fox, 
the royal almoner, and, subsequently, Bishop of 
Hereford, and Gardiner, afterwards Bishop of 
Winchester, who lodged at Mr. Cressy's. They, 
knowing Cranmer's fame for learning, requested his 
opinion of the divorce. He at once declared that 
he considered the marriage contrary to the laws 
of God. " The method," said Cranmer, " to be 
pursued, seems to me a simple one, and would 
bring the matter to an issue." They all eagerly 
inquired what he meant. " It is," rephed he, " to 
collect the opinions of all the universities in Europe 
on this one question ; ' Is it lawful to marry a 
brother's wife ? ' Their approbation of the mar- 
riage will satisfy the King's scruples ; or their dis- 
approbation will bring the Pope to a decision." 

When Henry was informed of Cranmer's opin- 
ion, he was struck with the proposal and exclaim- 
ed, as it is said Elizabeth did many years after- 
wards to one of the Spanish ambassadors ; " In 
truth, he 'has got the right sow by the ear.' " 

Cranmer was immediately summoned to the 
presence of the King, and, after a long conversa- 
tion, being well convinced that the learned doc- 
tor favored his views, he commanded him to put 
his sentiments in writing. 

" There is one simple question," said Cran- 
mer, " on which the whole rests. It is not, Sire, 



28 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

whether the Pope's dispensation, which permitted 
you to marry the widow of your brother, was 
legal, or could give legality to the marriage, but 
simply whether such a marriage was not contrary 
to the divine commands." 

Henry resolved to adopt his plan, of consulting 
divines ; and, determining to retain him counsel- 
lor in his service, placed him in the family of 
Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Ormond and Wiltshire, 
the father of Anne. This was undoubtedly a 
stroke of pohcy in the monarch. He was aware, 
that Cranmer would be in the way of receiving 
impressions favorable to his cause, as the family 
of the Earl would be highly advanced by the 
King's marriage with Anne Boleyn. 

The Earl of Wiltshire ranked high in the esti- 
mation of his countrymen. Erasmus knew him 
well, and spoke of him as a philosopher, a scholar, 
and well read in the Scriptures. He thus wrote 
to him ; "I do the more congratulate your hap- 
piness, when I observe the sacred Scriptures to 
be so dear to a man, as you are, of power, one of 
the laity and a courtier, and that you have such 
a desire to that pearl of price." 

Between the Earl and Erasmus there was a 
strong friendship. " The world is beholden to 
this noble peer for some of the labors that pro- 
ceeded from the pen of that most learned man," 
particularly *' Directions how to prepare for 
Death." 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 29 

During Cranmer's residence in this family, the 
powers of his mind and the social qualities of his 
disposition were fully called forth. With the 
Countess and Lady Anne he had a pleasant and 
easy intercourse ; with the Earl, serious and 
long conferences on im.portant matters. When 
the Earl was absent, they corresponded together. 
In a letter from Cranmer, dated at Hampton 
Court, in the month of June, 1530, he wrote to 
the Earl, that " The King's Grace, my Lady 
his wife, my Lady Anne his daughter, were in 
good health ; and that the King and my Lady 
Anne rode the day before to Windsor, from 
Hampton Court, and that night they were looked 
for again there ; praying God to be their guide." 

Can we judge Anne harshly when we find such 
a man as Cranmer promoting the unrighteous 
cause ? She had listened to him with reverence 
on rehgious subjects, and imbibed the spirit of 
the speaker. Probably if any twinges of con- 
science had hitherto admonished her when she 
thought of her gracious mistress and Queen, they 
were now silenced. 

Cranmer wrote his book, and was appointed to 
dispute with certain learned men on the subject 
of the divorce in both of the Universities. By 
his learning and authority he brought over many 
to his opinion, and Henry determined to send him 
on an embassy to Germany. To give the dignity 



30 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

of high rank to this embassy, he united with him 
the Earl of Wiltshire. 

With some difficulty, an answer had been pro- 
cured from Oxford and Cambridge in favor of the 
divorce. The decisions of the Italian and French 
universities had also been obtained to the same 
effect. The opinion of Erasmus was, with his 
usual caution, withheld, and he would not commit 
himself by any written documents or pubHc 
avowal. The German reformers were ready to 
allow, that the Pope had no power to authorize a 
marriage contracted in opposition to the will of 
God, but they could not entirely agree that this 
marriage came within that description ; and Lu- 
ther, when applied to, boldly said, he '' would 
sooner allow a man two wives, than to repudiate 
one with whom he had lived in the holy bonds of 
matrimony for twenty years." 

In the year 15o0, Dr. Cranmer began his 
embassy in company with the Earl of Wilt- 
shire, a man well known abroad, and already 
doubly conspicuous as the father of Anne Boleyn, 
whose name was now often coupled with the 
King's. They first directed their course to Italy, 
and had several interviews with the Pope.* At 

* We cannot resist giving the following amusing ex- 
tract from Fox, in describing the admittance of the am- 
bassadors to the Pope. 

" And when the time came that they should come be- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 31 

Rome, Cranmer remained several months, while 
the Earl and others repaired to the Emperor 
Charles the Fifth. 

Though hitherto Cranmer had led the life of a 
schoolman, he seems to have had incipient quali- 
ties of a courtier. His deportment in his embas- 
sy was affable and dignified, nor did he neglect 

fore the Pope, he was sitting- on high, in his cloth of 
estate, and in his rich apparell, with his sandales on his 
feete, offering, as it were, his foote to be kissed of the 
ambassadors ; the Earle of Wiltshire, disdaining thereat, 
stood still, and made no countenance thereunto, so that 
all the rest kept themselves from that idolatrie. 

" Howbeit, one thing is not here to bee omitted as a 
prognosticate of our separation from the See of Rome, 
which then chanced, by a spaniell of the Earl of Wilt- 
shire, . . . . . When the sayd Bishop of Rome 
had advanced forth his foote to be kissed, now whether 
the spaniell perceived the Bishop's foote of another na- 
ture than it ought to be, and so taking it for some kinde 
of repast, or whether it was the will of God to show him 
some token by a dogge of his inordinate pride, that his 
feete were more mete to be bitten by dogges than kissed 
of Christian men ; the spaniell (I say) when the Bishop 
extended his foote to be kissed, the dogge straightway 
went to his foote, and, as some afRrmeth, took his greate 
toe in his mouth. So that in haste he pulled in his glori- 
ous feete from the spaniell and after that thought no 
more at that present for kissing his feete, but without 
anie further ceremonie gave eare to the ambassadours 
what they had to say." — The Ldfe^ Acts, and Story of 
Dr. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. i^ M.^j^ a 



32 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

the more minute means of pleasing. He was 
found to possess wit without sarcasm, a happy 
manner of inculcating morality and thought, and, 
so won upon ail who associated with him, that the 
Earl of Wiltshire, who returned to England while 
Cranmer remained at Rome, informed Henry, he 
could find no ambassador more accomphshed for 
his purposes. The King, in consequence of 
these representations, sent him a commission with 
instructions to be his sole ambassador to the Em- 
peror. The commissional letters were dated 
January 24th, 1531 ; in these he styles Dr. Cran- 
mer '"• Consiharius Regius, et ad Csesarem Ora- 
tor." 

We now behold him in his new office, distin- 
guished by the favor of a monarch who had been 
considered as holding the balance of Europe, 
gifted in himself with excellent personal advanta- 
ges of manners, qualified to hold conferences 
with the most learned men of the age, and actu- 
ally converting them to his own view of the cause 
he had undertaken. The most important convert 
was Cornelius Agrippa, counsellor to the Emper- 
or. The melancholy fate of this man was prob- 
ably the result of his imprudence as much as his 
honesty, as he exasperated the Emperor by his 
gratuitous opposition to his wishes. He was cast 
into prison and died there. 

With Osiander, the pastor of Nuremberg, he 



CE.ANMER AND HIS TIMES. 33 

formed a strict intimacy ; and, at his earnest re- 
quest, passed much time with him. Their con- 
stant interchange of sentiments seemed to result 
in a union of opinion. Osiander became a con- 
vert to Cranmer's view of the King's marriage, 
and actually wrote a book proving it unlawful. 
Osiander was engaged in a work upon the Gos- 
pels ; Cranmer earnestly exhorted him to go on 
with it, and assured him, that " it would not only 
be of use to the Church of Christ, but adorn it." 
It was pubhshed in 1537, and dedicated to Cran- 
mer. 

In the frequent intercourse which existed be- 
tween these two learned men, the study was usu- 
ally the place of their meeting and conversation. 
From this apartment, Osiander's family were not 
wholly excluded. His young niece was often a 
silent listener ; and, when they repaired to the 
little parlour, she it was that performed the house- 
hold duties for the guests of her uncle. 

Hitherto Cranmer had taken no decisive steps 
in espousing the reformed religion ; but the argu- 
ments of Osiander came seasonably to the aid of 
his own mind. In setting up the authority of 
learned divines as equal to that of the Pope, by 
his advice to Henry, he suJfRciently proved, that 
his views were not to be confined within the strict 
enclosure of the mother church ; but the time 
had now arrived when he was absolutely to defy 
3 



34 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

it, to break through its essential rules, and stand 
on the same ground as Luther. It would be un- 
candid to ascribe any undue influence over his 
opinions to the little German maiden ; for it was 
evident, that his views, previously to leaving 
England, had been greatly changed. His inter- 
course with German Protestants had facilitated 
this change, and, perhaps, we may venture to al- 
low to the niece of Osiander the power of invest- 
ing him with sufficient resolution to virtually ab- 
jure the right of the Pope in imposing on the 
clergy any obligation to celibacy. However this 
may be, she became his second wife early in the 
following year. 

We pause here for a moment, as it appears to 
be the first developement of Cranmer's character. 

He had been sent on an embassy by the King, 
which was considered highly important. It was 
his purpose, and had been his desire, to win all 
hearts to the royal cause. By a step like this, he 
outraged the Catholics, and spent much of his 
time in the " primrose path of dalliance." It 
does not appear, however, that Henry felt any 
dissatisfaction with his ambassador when he re- 
turned to England. That he himself did not 
consider the step he had taken a judicious one 
was proved by his leaving his wife in Germany. 

It was highly honorable to the Protestants at 
this time, that they threw aside all party feelings, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 35 

and warmly espoused the cause of Catharine. 
They were loud in expressions of indignation at 
the wrongs of an injured and faithful wife ; and 
the German reformers who had defied the Pope 
and the Emperor, now enhsted under their ban- 
ners in defence of an insulted and broken-hearted 
woman. There cannot, however, be any doubt, 
that Cranmer embraced the cause of the King in 
the full conviction that it was a righteous one. 
He had been far from obtruding his opinion, and 
shrunk from the office of ambassador, which the 
King forced upon him. But, when once engaged 
in the cause, it was natural that it should assume 
magnitude in his view. He beheved that the fu- 
ture salvation of the King and Queen was deep- 
ly perilled by living together in a state that he con- 
sidered unholy ; and, in endeavouring to dissolve 
the union, he lost sight of the sufferings of the 
wife, and the rights of the daughter. He proba- 
bly, too, considered, that the manner, in which 
this question was settled, would have an im- 
portant influence on the future rehgion of the 
country ; and his mind had embraced too fully 
the views of the reformers, to submit to the 
infallibility of the Pope. In his conversations 
with Osiander, he had sometimes quoted the 
Fathers, St. Austin, St. Jerome, and his master's 
favorite, Thomas Aquinas. " Tell me not," 
said the German, '' of the heroes of the dark 



36 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

ages. Go to Peter, and Paul, and the great 
teacher of Christianity. Open your Bible, and 
find there your religion." All this correspond- 
ed with his early pursuits. His mind had been 
awakened, by the study of the Scriptures, years 
before, and he was well prepared to enter the lists 
of reform. 

There is an immeasurable distance, however, 
between Luther and the English reformer. Lu- 
ther, goaded on by his conscience, and aided only 
by the light of his own mind, seizing upon truth 
after truth, fighting for his cause against nations, 
and achieving the victory by the prowess of a 
single arm, is a phenomenon that he explained ; — 
" God is on my side." 

Cranmer was naturally diffident and cautious, 
and he appears to have wanted one of the essen- 
tial components of Luther's character, enthusi- 
asm. A life of tranquil duty and calm retirement 
was all he coveted ; but this cannot be allowed 
to the favorite of a king, and such he was rapidly 
becoming. 

On his return, he was offered the See of Can- 
terbury. This promotion he would gladly have 
declined. The turbulence of the times rendered 
the primacy an arduous and perhaps dangerous 
situation. The state of matrimony, into which 
he had secretly entered, was wholly opposed to 
the religious views of his still Roman Catholic 
country. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 37 

Another motive powerfully influenced him. 
It was necessary, in receiving the primacy, that 
he should take the oath of fidelity to the Pope. 
All these were, in his mind, insuperable obsta- 
cles. The King, however, did not consider them 
so. The oath was modified in a manner, that 
saved the conscience of the new archbishop, and 
concluded with an open protest, that he felt him- 
self bound, on all occasions, to oppose the 
Pope's illegal authority, and condemn his errors. 

Cranmer took possession of the primacy in 
1533, and secretly sent for his wife. 

While these events had been passing, Wolsey's 
sun had set to rise no more. Henry had cast 
him off; and, though, for a time, habit, or some 
remains of kindly affections, induced him to show 
signs of returning favor, the Cardinal felt too 
surely, that, in proportion to Anne's ascendency, 
had been his own decline. 

" All my glories 
In that one woman I have lost for ever. " 

Such was the favorite's impression ; but when 
was a league of pleasure permanent ? Wolsey 
was no longer of service to the King ; he could 
neither administer to his passions nor his interest ; 
and, as his views changed, and he lost his rever- 
ence for the ancient faith, his ear opened wilHngly 
to the tale of his misdeeds. Wolsey's worst 
crimes appear to have been, his subserviency to a 



38 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

heartless monarch ; his greatest offence to the 
people, his haughty and overweening pride and 
ambition. When arrested for high treason, it is 
said, that he discovered no signs of guilt, and 
only asked to be confronted with his accusers. 
On his way, he was seized with illness, and 
could only reach a monastery ; as he entered the 
gate, he said to the Abbot, " Father Abbot, I 
am come hither to lay my bones among you." 
His indisposition rapidly increased, but he was 
calm and resigned. He had previously passed 
through many stages of hope and fear, sometimes 
humbhng himself to the dust, and then, again, was 
suddenly elated by the shghtest symptom of royal 
favor ; but the storm and the whirlwind had pass- 
ed, and the still, small voice of conscience was 
whispering its admonitions in his ear, 

" Had I but served my God with half the zeal 
I served the King, he would not in mine age 
Have left me naked to mine enemies." 

He expired the next morning, in the sixtieth 
year of his age. 

In reading the history of Wolsey, as penned by 
CathoHcs and Protestants, we must use our own 
judgment. It is probable, that there is exaggera- 
tion on both sides ; that he had neither the virtues 
attributed to him by the one, nor the vices so lib- 
erally ascribed to him by the other. It does not 
appear that either Catharine of Aragon or Anne 



CRANMEll AND HIS TIMES. 39 

Boleyii influenced his fate. In the capricious and 
selfish character of the monarch, and in the rest- 
lessness of his own pride and ambition, were 
deeply planted the seeds of his ruin. Though it 
was evidently Wolsey's desire to estabhsh the ec- 
clesiastical supremacy, and restore the omnipo- 
tence of the Pope, he seems, even in this thing, 
to have been looking forward to his own eleva- 
tion, and to the dream of his days and nights, 
the chair of St. Peter ; for himself, he wished to 
hedge it round with colleges and institutions. 

Gardiner, the defendant and confidant of Wol- 
sey, was not, as many expected, involved in his 
disgrace. His fidelity to him seems to have been 
unquestioned. This man possessed an uncom- 
mon degree of penetration, a thorough knowledge 
of human nature in its weakest and worst forms, 
a capacity of accommodating himself to all char- 
acters, and an instinctive perception of what 
would aid or retard his own advancement. He 
ventured on a game that rarely succeeds with the 
most artful ; that of allegiance to the Pope and to 
the King, both now bitter enemies. Though in 
his heart opposed to the Reformation, he promot- 
ed Anne's marriage, who, he knew, was a zeal- 
ous advocate for it. But he trusted to his own 
powers for making all subservient to his interest. 
Cromwell was another of Wolsey's adherents, and 
undertook his defence in Parliament. He was 



40 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

secretary to the Cardinal, and originally the son 
of a blacksmith. He won the favor of Henry, 
by the earnestness with which he seconded his 
marriage with Anne. 

In the office of Chancellor, Wolsey was suc- 
ceeded by Sir Thomas More. His sanguinary 
measures must ever cast a shadow over his excel- 
lent gifts and high quahties. We must not forget, 
that the religion of that period seems to have par- 
taken but httle of the spirit of its great founder. 
The flaming sword guarded its precincts, and 
both Catholics and Protestants sacrificed their 
victims upon its altars. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 41 



CHAPTER IV. 

Very soon after his consecration, the Primate 
was called upon by Henry to pronounce the di- 
vorce. Cranmer had been too deeply engaged in 
the matter to feel any reluctance to utter this 
final decision. We are willing to believe that 
history, rather than his own heart, was silent on 
the subject of humanity. 

But it is to be feared, that his conviction of 
the unholiness of the marriage, his desire of defeat- 
ing the tyranny of the Pope and taking vigorous 
measures against the Church of Rome, added to 
his paternal affection for Anne, who had long 
honored, respected, and imbibed his opinions, 
and who, he had every reason to believe, would 
prove a powerful agent in the reform he was de- 
sirous of promoting ; — that all these considera- 
tions acted powerfully on his feehngs, and absorbed 
all tenderness and compassion for the unfortunate 
Queen. It is difficult for us to imagine, that a 
good and pious man should have taken the decided 
part he did in this matter ; but we are often disap- 
pointed in Cranmer's character ; he seems some- 
times to have yielded to the urgency or impulse 



42 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

of the moment, with a want of resolution that was 
a melancholy augury of the future. 

To give to Anne the dignity of a title was 
Henry's next object ; and he determined, in defi- 
ance of all estabhshed rules, to create her Mar- 
chioness of Pembroke. This was done with 
much pomp and ceremony. " She wore a circote 
of cloth of gold, richly trimmed with crimson, 
and on her head had no other coif or head geer 
than her own braided hair. The King, with his 
royal hands placed on her head the halfe coronet, 
and the Lady Mary Howard threw over her 
shoulders the ermine mantle, white as snowe. 
When thus equipped, she was most beautifull to 
behold ; and some of the Papistes sayd, if it were 
only for looks and comeliness, she w^as worthy to 
be Queene. The King could not be satisfyed 
with gazing upon her." 

Those who have seen the picture of Anne will 
easily credit this account. There is a mixture 
of playfulness and dignity mingled in her expres- 
sion, that must have been truly captivating. She 
had now nearly reached the zenith of her ambi- 
tion ; the coronet, she was well aware, would 
soon be exchanged for a royal diadem ; and we 
may without difficulty imagine, that the bloom of 
her cheek, and the lustre of her eye, had acquired 
fresh brilliancy as she saw it hovering over her. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 43 

The playfulness and freedom of her manner was, 
at this time, one of her great charms in the eyes 
of the capricious monarch. 

The superb set of jewels sent to Anne by 
the King on this occasion, is thus recorded in 
Strype's Appendix to his " Memorials." We 
give it in the ancient text. 

" Furste, One Carkeyne of gold antique warke, 
having a shielde of gold, set with a great Rose, 
containing xij Dyamants. One fayer table Dya- 
mant. One poynted Dyamant. One table Ru- 
bye. One table Emerawde. And iij fayer hing- 
ing perles. 

" Item, Another Carkeyne of golde of harts 
with ij hands holding a great owche of golde, set 
with a great table balasse. One poynted dia- 
mant. Two table dyamants ; Whereof one ris- 
ing with Lozanges, and the other flat. And one 
other long lozanged diamant. And iiij perles, v/ith 
one longe perle pendaunt. 

" Item J Another Carkeyne of golde enameled 
with blac and white, with an owche of golde 
enameled white and blew : Set with a great 
rockey Rubye : One rockey Emerawde : One 
pointed Dyamant : one table Dyamant. A harte 
of a Dyamant, rising ful of Lozanges. And one 
fayer hinging perle. 

" Item J Another Carkeyne of lynks of gold. 
The one enameled blac, the other gold : having an 



44 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

owche of golde, set with a great rockey balasse : 
Two smal table Dyamants ; and one Lozanged 
Dyamant. Five slight pedes, and one long perle 
pendaunt therat. 

" Item^ Another Carkeyne of gold, garnished 
thorowly with xxij coletts of dyamants, con- 
tening in al Ixxvij diamant smal and great : and 
xhij perles, with an owche of antique, set with xiiij 
dyamants, one rockey Rubye, and one rockey 
Emerawde ; and a flat round hinging perle. 

" Item, Another Carkeyne of golde, enameled 
blac, with an owche, set with a fayer table balasse, 
and three smal tryangled dyamants, and five 
perles. 

'' Item, A George on horse back : garnished 
with xvj smal Dyamants. And in the belly of the 
Dragon a rockey perle. 

" Item, Another Carkeyne of golde : al blac, 
having a George on horseback ; garnished with 
xviij smal Dyamants. And in the belly of the 
Dragon a perle ragged. 

'' Item, A cheyne of gold, of Spaynishe 
facion, enameled, white, red, and black." 

We are aware that the above hst of articles 
may want a glossary. The carkeyne is a collar ; 
fayer, fair ; balasses, rubies ; Lozanges, a figure 
in heraldry denoting the arms of the family. 

Soon after Anne was made Marchioness of 
Pembroke, she was privately married to the 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 45 

King, probably on the 25th of January, 1532. 
The ceremony was performed in the presence of 
the Duke of Norfolk, and her father and mother. 
At this time there had been no public sentence 
of divorce. Henry said " there was no need of 
one after so many Doctors and Universities had 
decided for it." 

It became now a pressing matter that the for- 
mer marriage should be declared null, and Catha- 
rine was urged to yield her acquiescence ; but 
she positively rejected the idea, asserting that 
she was Queen of England, and Henry's lawful 
wife, and rejecting all entreaties and bribes ; and, 
when urged to retire to a nunnery, protested that 
she would never take any steps that might un- 
queen herself, or render her daughter illegitimate. 
When it was found that nothing would shake the 
resolution of Catharine, and that she persisted in 
saying, wherever the King sent her she should 
still be his wife, they proceeded to the public sen- 
tence of the divorce, of which Cranmer, in a 
letter, gives the following account. 

" As touching the final determination and con- 
cluding of the matter of divorce, between my 
Lady Katherine and the King's grace : and after 
the convocation in that behalf had determined 
and agreed according to the former sentence of 
the Universities, it was thought convenient by the 
King and his learned council that I should repair 



46 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

to Dunstable, and there to cdl her before me, to 
hear final sentence in this said matter. Notwith- 
standing she would not at all obey thereunto. 

'^ On the 9th of May, according to the said ap- 
pointment, I came to Dunstable, my Lord of 
Lincoln being assistant to me." (Then follows a 
list of counsellors for the King.) "And so there 
at our coming, kept a court for the appearance 
of the said Katherine, where we examined certain 
witnesses, who testified, that she was lawfully 
cited and called to appear, as the process of the 
law thereunto belongeth ; which continued fifteen 
days after our first coming thither. The morrow 
after Ascension day, I gave sentence therein, 
how that it was indispensable for the Pope to li- 
cense any such marriage." 

Dunstable was chosen because the Queen re- 
sided at Ampthill, which was so near that she 
could not pretend ignorance. It appears, how- 
ever, that Catharine was above all these arts. 
She did not answer to the citation. She had 
uniformly declared that she would not do it. We 
can hardly imagine any other course that she 
could with dignity have taken. There is some- 
thing that deeply moves our sympathies in her 
conduct. She expresses no violent anger towards 
the King, not even when he sent Lord Mountjoy 
to inform her that she was a divorced princess, 
and instructed him to threaten her, that, in case 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 47 

of her persisting in her resolution, it might be fa- 
tal to the succession of her daughter. She re- 
plied with calmness, '' I will never willingly sub- 
mit to such an infamy, or peril my soul by con- 
senting to it. I am the wife of Henry the 
Eighth. I will never call myself by any other 
name, nor suffer my servants to do it." 

There can be no doubt but her affections were 
deeply wounded. She had married Henry in his 
youth, and, however changed to every other eye, 
to hers he was the same. She had been a faith- 
ful, humble, trusting wife. What pangs must 
she have endured, when her resistance to Lord 
Mountjoy's message was followed by the informa- 
tion, that the King had been privately married to 
Anne Boleyn, for several months ! Even then 
she does not seem to have forgotten her self- 
respect. She replied to the messenger, when he 
asked if she had any commands, " Say to the 
King, I shall ever remain his faithful wife." 

Few die of a broken heart ; but, we beheve, 
this unhappy Queen was one of the few. The 
arrow had entered, and the wound was deep and 
incurable. She was sick, — sick to the very 
soul. She had given the King the best years of 
her life ; she had meekly borne wrongs that the 
poorest peasant would have murmured at. She 
still loved him, for it is the destiny of woman to 
love, through ill treatment, through obloquy, and 



48 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

disgrace. For three years she lingered under the 
gradual decay of consuming grief. But, happily 
for her, the vital flame burned feebly ; it flickered 
awhile, and then expired ! 

As Catharine approached her death, she re- 
quested to see her daughter, who was now 
twenty years old ; Henry had the cruelty to re- 
fuse. From the time of the divorce, she had 
been separated from her mother. And what was 
her last message to a faithless husband ? She 
WTote thus ; 

''My most dear Lord, King, and Husband: 
My last hour is now approaching. I would fain 
at this solemn moment impress upon you the im- 
portance of rehgious duty, and the comparative 
emptiness of all human grandeur and enjoyment. 
Though your fondness towards these perishable 
advantages has created much trouble to yourself, 
and thrown me into many calamities, I truly for- 
give all past injuries, and hope Heaven will forgive 
you as freely as I do. I have no request to make 
you, but commend to you our infant daughter, 
the sole pledge of our love, and my maids and 
servants." Then, as if human affection broke 
through all restraint, she added, " I make this 
vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things." 

We ask not whether such a woman was a 
Catholic or a Protestant. We feel that she was 
a Christian, and all our sympathies are enlisted in 
her cause. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 49 

When Henry received this last proof of her 
long and tried affection, even he was moved, and 
unbidden tears fell from his eyes. 

And Anne, — surely the tenderness of woman 
must be roused. She was the happy, the suc- 
cessful rival. There was nothing now to fear 
from indignant Catholics or just Protestants. She 
stood firm upon the throne, and might freely weep, 
and lament the sorrows of her once beloved mis- 
tress. There is surely no enmity in the grave ! 
The palHd cheek, the sunken eye, the closed and 
silent lips, the rigid form, can these awaken exul- 
tation ? Would that they could not ; but it was 
said, that Anne expressed a joy and triumph 
when she heard of Catharine's death, unbecoming 
the " painted shadow of a queen." It may be, 
that she still saw some lingering tenderness in the 
cold-hearted, selfish monarch, towards the wife 
of his youth. Such ties are only broken com- 
pletely by hatred or contempt ; and neither of 
these emotions could Henry conjure up. Her 
crime was, being no longer young. Well might 
Luther say, '' What a noble bond is formed be- 
tween man and woman," when even the whirlwind 
of passion could not wholly destroy it. " She 
has been to me a most loving and faithful wife," 
said the monarch ; " would that my conscience 
would allow me to be at rest ! " alluding to her 
marriage with his brother. If, as Catharine sol- 
4 



50 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

emnly protested, she had only been the nominal 
wife of Arthur, what shall we say of the odious 
hypocrisy of Henry. 

Hitherto, we have seen in Anne's conduct lit- 
tle to approve ; but let us not judge her too 
harshly. Early sent from a mother's watchful 
care to the French Court, allowed to mix with the 
society there, to sparkle and to dazzle while al- 
most a child, uninstructed in the ethics of our 
days, which, at least, inculcate the beauty and 
wisdom of self-discipline, her career was a thought- 
less one ; and, when she returned to England, she 
was placed again in a court, as maid of honor 
to the British Queen, disappointed in a first love, 
and taught that loyalty and ambition must go hand 
in hand. Spurred on by her father, and unreprov- 
ed by the Archbishop who was her model of wis- 
dom and virtue, may we not rather be surprised 
that her conduct was so discreet, as, in spite of 
calumny, it appears to have been. The King's 
addresses she at first received with coldness, and, 
more than once, retired to her father's house, 
and, let us hope, to the arms of a mother, whose 
counsels were true to nature. On this subject 
history is silent ; we know nothing of the domes- 
tic education of Anne. But what mother can be 
found who would willingly sacrifice a daughter to 
such a man as Henry the Eighth, at this period 
of his life, even though he were a monarch ^ Of 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 51 

her father, it is recorded, that she went back to 
the Court, influenced by his tears and entreaties. 

The first act of the drama of Anne's hfe is 
ended ; let us proceed to the second ; and this 
was her coronation. 

" On Saturday, the one-and-thirtieth day of 
May, the Queen was conveyed through London, 
in order as follows." We pass over the greater 
part of this description, as the curious naay find 
it in Stowe, and select only such parts as may 
be interesting to all. After the long procession 
of nobility, passing through streets hung with tis- 
sues of gold, velvet, and other rich hangings, and 
" the windows replenished with ladies and gentle- 
men to behold the Queene as she passed, all 
making a goodly shew," came Anne, " in a white 
litter of white cloth of gold, not covered or braid- 
ed, which was led by two palfreys clad in white 
damask, down to the ground, head and all, led by 
her footmen ; she had on a kirtle of white cloth 
of tissue, and a mantle of the same furred with 
ermine, her hair hanging downe, but on her head 
she had a coif with a circlet about it full of rich 
stones ; over her was borne a canopy of cloth of 
gold, with four gilt staves, and four silver belles ; 
for bearing of the which canopy were appointed 
sixteen knights ; foure to bear it in one space on 
foote, and four another space, according to their 
own appointment. Next after the Queene, rode 



52 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

the Lord Brough, her chamberlaine ; next after 
him, William Coffin, master of the horse, with a 
side-saddle trapped down with cloth of tissue ; 
after him rode seven ladies in crimson velvet, 
turned up with cloth of gold and tissue, and their 
horses trapped with gold." Then came innumer- 
able pageants, " one of little children, apparelled 
like merchants, which welcomed her to the cittie 
with two proper propositions, both in French and 
in English. From thence she rode toward Grace 
Church corner, where was a costly and marvel- 
lous cunning pageant made by the merchants of 
the Stillyard. Therein was the Mount Parnassus 
with the fountain of Helicon, which was of white 
marble,. and four streames without pipes did rise 
an ell high, and meet together in a little cup above 
the fountain, which fountain ran abundantly with 
rackt Reynish wine till night." Much of the 

same pageantry was everywhere exhibited 

" Then she went forward, and passed the great 
conduit in Cheape by a goodly fountain that ranne 
continually wyne, both white and claret, all the af- 
ternoon The recorder came to her with 

low reverence, making a proper and brief propo- 
sition, and gave to her in the name of the cittie 
a thousand markes in golde, in a golden purse, 
which she thankfully accepted with many good 
wordes, and so rode to the conduit, where was a 
rich pageant of melody and songs, in which pa- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 53 

geant were Pallas, Juno, and Venus, and afore 
them stood Mercuries, which in the name of the 
three goddesses gave unto her a ball of golde di- 
vided into three, signifying three gifts which these 
three goddesses gave to her ; that is to say, wis- 
dome, riches, and fehcitie." 

'' On the first of June, Whitsunday, the Queene 
again appeared in procession to attend the King's 
Chappel. The Queene was on this day attired in 
a circote and robe of purple velvet furred with 
ermine, and her hair and coif as it w^as on Satur- 
day ; her train, which was very long, was borne 

by the old Duchess of Norfolk When 

she came to the place made for her in the midst 
of the church, she was set in a rich chair, where 
she rested awhile, then went forward to the altar, 
and there prostrated herself before Archbishop 
Cranmer. He said collects, and anointed her 
on the head and breast. The Archbishop sett 
the crown of St. Edward on her head, and then 
delivered her the sceptre of gold in her right 
hand, and the rod of ivory with the dove in her 
left hand, and then all the choir sung Te Deum, 
&c., which over, the Bishop took off the crown 
of St. Edward, being heavy, and set on her head 
the crown made for her." An account is added 
of the feast, of costly dishes and subtilties, &c. ; 
but the specimen already given of the pageantry 



54 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

attending Anne's coronation is a small part of it, 
though probably enough for the reader. 

We now behold Anne and her father in posses- 
sion of all they had so long coveted. They had 
reached the point of human greatness. We must 
follow her a little further in her history, — we 
must see her on the English throne, gay, affable, 
and dispensing her sunny smiles to all around her. 
Amidst the dark season of bigotry and persecu- 
tion, she seems to have glided amongst its minis- 
ters like an angel of peace. Her mind was ap- 
parently quick and versatile ; she read with avid- 
ity Tyndal's translation of the Scriptures, and 
others of his works which the Archbishop put 
into her hand, and which were deemed heretical. 
She delighted in the flowing verses of Wyatt, 
and made him her poet laureate. She spoke 
kindly to all her attendants, and, when the princess 
Ehzabeth was born, in less than a year after her 
marriage, she probably believed that her happiness 
was secure. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 55 



CHAPTER V. 

Soon after these events, Henry was prevailed 
upon by Bellay, Bishop of Bayonne, (who was 
commissioned by Francis,) to make concessions 
to the Court of Rome. The Pope, who really 
had no wish to come to extremities with England, 
finally agreed to defer his sentence of excommu- 
nication in consequence of Catharine's divorce 
and Henry's marriage, and wait for the submis- 
sion. This negotiation in part transpired, and 
gave doubt and alarm to Anne and her party. 
Anne knew that she could find no favor with the 
Pope, and the Protestants were fully aware that 
a renewal of apologies and promises was a re- 
newal of CathoHc bonds. 

Cranmer, well acquainted with the obstinacy 
of Henry, looked on with dismay, trusting, 
however, that the reformed rehgion might yet be 
protected. The messenger was despatched to 
Rome, and the English Protestants waited with 
anxious feelings for the events that were to fol- 
low. 

Contrary winds detained the courier of the 
King beyond the time appointed. To the ex- 



56 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

cited mind of the Pope, this delay was a new in- 
sult. In vain his counsellors sohcited him to 
suspend the sentence, and suggested the possibil- 
ity of involuntary detention. The Pope posi- 
tively refused, and uttered the sentence of e^^ 
communication against Henry, and England be- 
came a Protestant country ! 

The dismay of the Catholic conclave, with 
Clement at their head, may well be imagined at 
the arrival of the courier freighted with Henry's 
submission, two days after the tremendous sen- 
tence of excommunication had been hurled at his 
royal head. Cranmer might well say with Lu- 
ther, ''God is on our side," when he found the 
intended submission of the King was rendered 
of no avail by the precipitancy of the Pope, and 
his zeal in the cause of reformation seems from 
this time to have been unceasing. The first step 
he proposed, was, to have the Scriptures put into 
vulgar or common language, and liberty given to 
all to read them. Though this motion was ac- 
ceded to in Parliament, yet another was added of 
an opposite spirit, and greatly vexed the Arch- 
bishop. '' That all in whose possession were 
books printed in the vulgar language, either be- 
yond or this side of the sea, of suspect doctrine, 
should be warned, within three months to bring 
them in before certain persons appointed by the 
King, under certain penalties to be determined by 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 57 

the King." The Archbishop had openly in his 
preaching denied the Pope's jurisdiction ; but in 
March, 1534, a bill was read in the House of 
Lords, setting forth the intolerable exactions for 
Peter-^mce^ provisions, pensions, and bulls, which 
were contrary to all laws, and grounded only on 
the Pope's power of dispensing, which was 
usurped ; for the King, and the Lords and Com- 
mons only had the right to consider how the laws 
might be dispensed with, or abrogated, and that the 
King ought to be considered the supreme head of 
the Church. This act was accepted, and the suc- 
cession to the crown was secured, in another bill 
passed a few days after, to the descendants of 
Queen Anne, in which all were required " to 
swear to bear faith, truth, and obedience alonely 
to the King's majesty, and to his heirs of his 
most dear and entirely beloved wife, Queen 
Anne." 

This bill very naturally aw^oke new opposition 
among the Cathohcs, and new tumults. Anne 
had the mortification of seeing herself continually 
styled the " upstart Queen," the subject of coarse 
and indecent jests ; for the Enghsh were not at 
that time accomplished in the neat and pointed 
epigram of the French. They pounced upon 
their prey, and mauled and battered like any box- 
ers. Not contented with this prowess, their dissat- 
isfaction began to take a treasonable shape, mak- 



58 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

ing a woman by the name of A«fie Barton their 
unfortunate tool. 

This person had been subject to epileptic fits, 
and, while under their partial dominion, adopted 
a wildness and strangeness of denunciation, that 
has since afforded a model for many romances. 
Bred in the Roman Catholic school, and deeply 
sensible of the wrongs of Catharine, she nat- 
urally turned her vituperation upon her succes- 
sor Anne. More than once, Anne had, in her 
excursions, heard the wild ravings of the self- 
styled prophetess. With the curiosity of youth, 
she had even paused to listen ; and, when her at- 
tendants would have arrested or used violence 
towards the woman, she had ordered them to let 
her alone. The impression was a fleeting one 
upon the Queen's mind, and it was not till she 
was styled the Maid of Kent, and her mission 
" accredited by a letter written in heaven, and 
sent to her by Mary Magdalene," that the mad 
woman was recalled to her memory. 

Nothing more entirely exhibits the darkness of 
the age, than the importance attached to this mis- 
erable woman. The King became more espe- 
cially the object of her predictions. She ven- 
tured to proclaim that he would die the death of 
a common felon. As she resided within the 
diocese of Cranmer, he could not remain igno- 
rant of her growing influence. For some time 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 59 

he regarded her as Anne had done, as of little 
importance ; but, when her predictions took a form 
so treasonable, and she even fixed on a day for 
the death of the King, he could no longer remain 
inactive. There is a letter of the Archbishop's 
still extant giving an account of her. " When 
she was brought here and laid before the image 
of our Lady, her face was wonderfully disfigured, 
her tongue hanging out, and her eyes being in a 
manner plucked out, and laid upon her cheeks ; 
and so greatly disordered." Le Bas, the histo- 
rian of Cranmer, supposes she had something of 
the gift of ventriloquism, for the Archbishop goes 
on to say ; '' Then there was a voice heard speak- 
ing inwardly, her lips not greatly moving ; she all 
that while continuing by the space of three hours 
or more in a trance. The which voice, when it 
told any thing of the joys of heaven, it spake so 
sweetly and so heavenly, that every man was rav- 
ished with the hearing thereof. And contrary, 
when it told any thing of hell, it spake so horri- 
bly and terribly, that it put the hearers in great 
fear. It spake also many things for the confirma- 
tion of pilgrimages, and trentals, hearing of masses 
and confessions, and many other such things. 
And after she had lain there a long time, she 
came to herself again, and was perfectly whole. 
And so this miracle was finished and solemnly 
sung, and a book written of all the story thereof. 



60 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

and put into print ; which ever since that time 
hath been commonly sold, and gone abroad among 
the people." 

Trances and somnambulism have generally 
been the medium of imposition. Cranmer goes 
on to say, that he had " sent for the holy maid 
and examined her, and now she confessed all, and 
said she never had a vision in her life ; but all 
that she ever said was feigned of her own imagi- 
nation, to satisfy the minds of them that resorted 
unto her, and to obtain worldly praise." 

She and her accomplices were arraigned and 
committed to the Tower. On the 20th of April, 
the Nun or Holy Maid, with her instigators, were 
brought to Tyburn. Whatever might have been 
her misdoings in other respects, it is shocking to 
think that a poor epileptic woman, the tool of 
others, should have been executed for treason. 
Her speech at the scaffold is such, as in lucid 
moments and removed from improper influence, 
might be expected. "- Hither I am come to die ; 
and I have been not only the cause of my own 
death, which most justly I have deserved, but al- 
so am the cause of the death of all those persons 
who suffer here at this time. And yet, to say 
the truth, I am not much to be blamed, consider- 
ing that it was^well known to these learned men 
that I was a poor wench, without learning, and 
therefore they might easily have perceived that 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 61 

the things that were done by me could not pro- 
ceed in no such sort ; but their capacities and 
learning could right well judge from whence they 
proceeded, and that they were altogether feigned. 
Bui because the thing which I feigned was alto- 
gether profitable to them, therefore they much 
praised me, and bore me in hand, that it was the 
Holy Ghost and not I that did them ; and then, I 
being puffed up with their praises, fell into a cer- 
tain pride and foolish fantasy with myself, and 
thought I might feign what I would, which thing 
hath brought me to this case ; and for the which 
now, I cry God and the King's Highness most 
heartily mercy, and desire you all good people to 
pray to God to have mercy on me, and on all 
them that here suffer with me." 

Warham and Fisher were for a time duped by 
the delusion, and even Sir Thomas More thought 
the matter worth investigating ; but it does not 
appear that he was decided, as he always spoke 
of her as the " silly nun." Those who were 
executed with her as abettors, have been called 
the first martyrs of reform ; with how much jus- 
tice is easily determined. 

When the imposition was first discovered, 
Cromwell, then Secretary of State, sent to Fish- 
er, Bishop of Rochester, a reproof, and advised 
him to write an humble letter to the King, and 
desire his pardon, saying, he knew the King 



62 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 



would grant it. Fisher, however, evaded the ad- 
vice, and said that he was induced to have faith 
in her from what is said in the Prophet Amos, 
" that God will do nothing without revealing it to 
his servants." He continued obstinate, and would 
make no submission. 

The oath of succession for Anne's issue was 
now administered, including many other articles. 
It was -generally accepted and sworn to ; but Sir 
Thomas More and the Bishop of Rochester re- 
fused to take the oath. The Archbishop, who 
had a sincere respect for More, urged: him most 
earnestly to subscribe to it, and used arguments 
convincing to his own mind. 

" You say," said Cranmer, '' that you are not 
persuaded that it is a sin, but a doubtful matter. 
You certainly know you ought to obey the King 
and the law ; therefore there is a certainty on the 
one hand, and only a doubt on the other." 

" I have weighed the matter," he rephed, '' and 
examined it carefully, and my conscience leans to 
the other side. I am wiUing to take my oath that 
this is a matter of principle, and not done from 
disrespect or obstinacy." 

Gardiner, the Abbot of Westminster, then 
said, that he might see that his conscience was 
erroneous, since the great council of the realm 
was of another mind, and therefore he ought to 
change his conscience. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 63 

" If I were alone," said More, " against the 
whole Parliament, I might suspect my own judg- 
ment ; but I have the whole council of Christen- 
dom on my side." 

Secretary Cromwell, who tenderly loved him, 
began to fear that his ruin was inevitable, and pro- 
tested that his refusal of the oath was to him hke 
losing his only son. 

Cranmer, now finding that neither More nor 
Fisher could be wrought upon to sign what was 
called the succession, asked them if they w^ould 
swear to the succession of the crown for the issue 
of the King's present marriage, and let the other 
articles rest. 

After dehberation they consented, and Cran- 
mer wrote an earnest and touching letter to 
Cromwell, entreating these terms might be accept- 
ed. But the King was too much irritated, and 
determined the thing should proceed according to 
law ; and they were indicted and committed to 
the Tower. There they were imprisoned for a 
year. More was supplied with the necessaries of 
life by his favorite daughter, Margaret Roper ; 
but Fisher, in his seventy-seventh year, with all 
the infirmities of old age, was left without suitable 
clothing, and compelled to solicit it even from his 
persecutors. 

There is something in this proceeding, that 
calls forth our extreme indignation. Two men, 



64 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

distinguished for their piety and truth, educated 
as Catholics, were thus condenaned for asserting 
that Henry was not the supreme head of the 
Catholic Church. Fisher was the last surviving 
counsellor of Henry the Seventh, and to his care 
the Countess of Richmond, the King's grand- 
mother, on her death-bed, recommended her roy- 
al grandson, Henry the Eighth. For a time, the 
young monarch had revered him, and even boast- 
ed, that no one possessed a prelate equal in virtue 
and learning to the Bishop of Rochester. His 
opposition to the divorce first alienated the King ; 
then the affair of Elizabeth Barton drew upon 
him an attainder for treason ; and the third oppo- 
sition in refusing to take the oath of succession, 
sealed his ruin. 

After Fisher was imprisoned, and before the 
news of his condemnation had reached Rome, 
Paul the Third, the successor of Clement, named 
him for a Cardinal. When this information 
reached Henry, he said with much jocularity, 
" Paul may send the hat, but we will take care 
that he shall have no head to wear it on." 

Cranmer did not cease exerting his influence 
to save the lives of these two men. When 
More was to appear at the bar, he was con- 
ducted on foot through the most frequented 
streets, on the 7th of May, 1535, and entered 
the court leaning on his staff, for he was much 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 65 

weakened by his imprisonment ; but his counte- 
nance was cheerful and composed. The sen- 
tence pronounced upon him is too horrible to re- 
cord, but '' by the King's mercy " it was changed 
into beheading. 

Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was still more 
enfeebled by age and great privations, but seems 
to have preserved a cheerfulness almost amount- 
ing to vivacity ; or, perhaps, the speedy prospect 
of relief, after the time of his execution was 
fixed, might have produced it. For instance, 
there was a false rumor that he was to be execut- 
ed on a certain day. His cook hearing of it, 
omitted preparing his dinner. He inquired why 
his dinner was not brought. '' Sir," said the 
cook, "it was commonly talked all the towne 
over, that you should have died that day, and 
therefore I thought it but vaine to dresse any 
thing for you." 

" For all that report," he answered merrily, 
" thou seest me yet ahve ; and, therefore, whatso- 
ever newes thou shalt heare of me hereafter, let 
rae no more lack my dinner, but make it ready 
as thou art wont to do ; and, if thou seest me dead 
when thou comest, eat it thyself." 

He arrayed himself for his execution with un- 
common care, calling it his "^'marriage day." 
When the heutenant came for him, he was not 
5 



66 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

quite ready, and sent for his furred tippet to put 
round his neck. 

The officer smiled, and said, " O my lord, 
what neede you be so careful for your health for 
this little time, not much above an houre." 

'' I think no otherwise," he replied ; " but yet 
I will keep myself as well as I can till the very 
time of my execution. I will not willingly hinder 
my health one minute of an hour, but still pro- 
long the same as long as I can, by such reason- 
able waies and meanes, as God hath provided for 
me." 

There is something truly dignified in this reply, 
showing the healthy and composed state of his 
mind. 

'' When the innocent and holy man was come 
upon the scaffold, he spake to the people in effect 
as followeth ; 

"Christian people, I am come hither to die 
for the faith of Christ's holy Catholique Church ; 
and I thank God hitherto my stomach hath served 
me very well thereunto, so that yet I have not 
feared death ; wherefore I desire you all to help 
and assist with your prayers, and, at the very in- 
stant and point of death's stroke, I may in that 
very moment stand steadfast without fainting in 
any one point of the Catholique faith, free from 
any fear." 

Would that this were the first blood shed' in 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 67 

the cause of religious faith during Henry the 
Eighth's reign. But it is sad to think, that men 
who could die so nobly for their own belief, were 
previously instruments in shedding the blood of 
Lutherans ! There is sufficient evidence that 
Cranmer bitterly lamented the death of these two 
men, and used all the influence he possessed to 
save their hves. 

The execution of these two distinguished sons 
of the Catholic Church, Sir Thomas More and 
Fisher, filled the Pope, Paul the Third, with 
just indignation. He perceived that the peri- 
od for temporizing was past, and he determined 
to make a desperate effort to establish once 
more his authority among the subjects of the re- 
beUious King. For this purpose, in 1535, his 
celebrated bull was executed. The tenor of it 
is well known. It summons the King and his 
accomphces to appear at Rome within sixty days, 
on pain of excommunication and of exclusion 
from Christian burial. In case of disobedience, 
an interdict is laid on pubhc worship, and the pos- 
terity of Anne Boleyn pronounced illegitimate. 
It absolves the subjects of Henry from their 
fealty and allegiance, commands the clergy to 
leave the realm, and forbids the military to stir in 
defence of the King. It prohibits all Christian 
powers from entering into treaty or confederacy 
with the King, and dissolves all previous engage- 



68 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

merits made with him. It charges the nobility 
and gentry to take up arms against their sovereign, 
and authorizes all to seize the property of those 
who disobey the bull, and to reduce them to 
slavery. 

There was two or three years' delay before 
this tremendous instrument was actually and offi- 
cially issued. Paul and his counsellors were 
credulous enough to beheve that the mere rumor 
of it would be sufficient to bring Henry to terms ; 
but, lest it should not accomplish all that was in- 
tended, another alarming report was circulated, 
that the Pope had determined, if Henry contin- 
ued disobedient, to take away his kingdom, and 
give it to one of the pious German princes. 

What in the present day excites derision, at 
that period stirred up controversy. And in this 
childish exhibition of pontifical power, Cranmer 
found the cause which lay at his heart strongly 
aided. 

He succeeded in consecrating the excellent 
Latimer in the see of Worcester ; a man who 
seems to have been free from the persecuting 
bigotry of the times. Cromwell was created 
vicegerent by the King ; and, whatever was his 
character, he did much towards aiding Cranmer's 
purposes. The suppression of the monasteries 
was his work, in conjunction with the King, who 
was nothing loth to convert their revenues to 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 69 

his own emolument. Cranmer most earnestly 
desired, that the monasteries and abbeys might 
become schools and colleges, and used many 
arguments and much persuasion for that pur- 
pose. 



70 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES 



CHAPTER VI. 

A HEAVY calamity was now impending over 
the Archbishop. He had loved the Queen with 
parental affection, and trusted that her reign might 
promote the cause of virtue and true religion. In 
the continuance of her gay and sometimes sportive 
demeanor, after she became Queen of England, he 
saw only the same natural vivacity, that had made 
her the dehght of her friends, the charm of her 
father's household, and had won the heart of the 
monarch. It does not appear, that he had ever 
advised her to a change of demeanor, or warned 
her that her royal husband had placed spies in her 
path. Such an idea was probably as remote from 
his mind, as it appears to have been from that of 
the unfortunate Queen. 

It was at a tilting match that the King's jeal- 
ousy is said to have reached its height. The 
fall of her handkerchief, whether by accident or 
design, which he chose to consider a signal to 
a lover, was the pretext he made use of to accuse 
the Queen. But, if the beautiful Jane Seymour 
was present, it elucidates the mystery. Anne 
was to be sacrificed to make way for a rival. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 71 

The mockery of her trial fills us with indignation. 
Surrounded by enemies, all eager for her ruin, 
for Henry had become despotic ; tormented by 
the presence of a woman, who, though the wife 
of her oiii^ffi, look pleasure in annoying her ; ac- 
cused of the vilest crimes by the infamous Lady 
Rochfort, who, for the sake of accomplishing the 
ruin of the Queen, condemned her own husband 
to the scaffold, what hope remained for the unfor- 
tunate Anne ? We naturally look to Cranmer ; 
but even here our expectations are frustrated. 
The King, knowing the antagonist he must en- 
counter, sent him his positive commands, not to 
appear at Court, but to go to Lambeth. 

It is evident that there had been some want of 
harmony between Anne and her royal htisband 
previously to the birth of a son, '' who, in being 
born dead," greatly enraged him, as his expecta- 
tions were at once disappointed. Her gentle and 
heart-breaking remonstrance, that it might have 
been different but for his unkindness, proves that 
she had suffered previously to the event. The 
best explanation of the sequel of the Queen's 
history, is in the following sentence. " The 
King saw her no longer with those eyes which 
she had formerly captivated." 

It is very possible, that her manners might have 
been too frank and open for the high dignity of 
her situation, and have given the King some 



7-2 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

grounds for jealousy. But the extreme alienation 
that took place, can only be accounted for, by 
bearing in mind his character, as it exhibited itself 
through life. Jealous of the sentiments he in- 
spired, and forgetting how entirely he had lost the 
power of charming^ he probably discovered this 
unwelcome truth from Anne's involuntary deport- 
ment. Her own observation confirms this idea. 
While protesting her innocence of any crime, she 
adds, that possibly she might not have been suffi- 
ciently guarded in concealing her dissatisfaction 
towards him. Probably disgust was the true 
word, and we may well believe that her death was 
too slight a revenge for his insulted pride. It was 
sufficient however for his purposes, as it opened 
the way for a new Queen. 

No one can read the trial of Anne Boleyn, 
without feeling the mockery of it. The King's 
accusation against her of infidelity falls to the 
ground, and the poor resource of a pre-contract 
with Percy, Earl of Northumberland, is had re- 
course to. This the Earl positively denied on 
oath ; but Anne, perhaps, understanding less the 
nature of legal contracts, and remembering her 
first love, and feeling that her heart was closely 
allied to his, let fall words that could be interpret- 
ed into a confession of a contract before her mar- 
riage with the King. 

Let us look at the situation of this unfortunate 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 73 

Queen, at whose coronation, three years before, 
we have glanced. She had decidedly advocated 
the reformed doctrines, and used all her influence 
that the Bible might be translated into English, in 
a manner that all might search it for themselves. 
She had endeavoured to promote a union between 
Henry and the Protestant princes. This natural- 
ly disaffected her Catholic subjects ; and as her 
charities, though freely given to all who were in 
want, were among the poor and uninfluential, they 
created for her no powerful party. In nine 
months she distributed between fourteen and fif- 
teen thousand pounds to the poor, and was urgent 
that the money that was raised by the suppres- 
sion of religious houses should be dedicated to 
benevolent purposes. 

Gardiner, who was abroad, and the Duke of 
Norfolk at Court, justly dreaded her influence in 
opposition to the Catholic cause, and heartily 
wished her out of the way. There were enough 
round the King to seize the humor of his mind, and 
to act as spies ; and, by informing him that a Lady 
Wingfield had sworn upon her death-bed that the 
Queen was unfaithful to hini, they gave him a pre- 
tence for arraigning her. " This," says an histori- 
an of the times, " was the safest sort of forgery, 
^o lay a thing on a dead person's name, where there 
is no fear of discovery before the great davj." 

When she was first arraigned, she appears to 



74 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

have doubted the reality, and said, smiling, " The 
King has only done this thing to prove me." 
When actually convinced, she was seized with 
violent nervous affections, and talked wildly of 
her own innocence and the judgment that would 
fall on her enemies. She earnestly entreated to 
see the King ; but, of course, this she was de- 
nied. The next day she was carried to the 
Tower, and Lady Boleyn, an aunt-in-law, was 
placed with her as a spy, who regularly studied 
to draw confessions from her, every day making 
known all that fell from her lips. 

We may imagine what was the state of the 
prisoner, naturally so excitable, and of a dehcate 
and sensitive frame. Her sense of wretchedness 
seemed to be extreme, and brought on nervous 
spasms. Sometimes she wept violently, and then, 
by a sudden transition of feeling, burst into laugh- 
ter. Then, again, she called on her mother, and 
bemoaned her misery when she should hear of her 
calamity ; but she was denied the natural solace 
of seeing her. Her mother was not permitted 
to be with her. Could she have rested her 
throbbing head on her bosom, could she have felt 
maternal tears mingling with hers, could she have 
listened to the soothing, though agonized accents 
of affection, we might have pitied her less ; for 
that being is not wholly desolate, who has one 
friend to lean upon. But poor Anne had none. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 75 

" O, if my Bishops were but here," she ex- 
claimed, " they would speak for me ! " 

But the King would not see Cranmer, and 
Cranmer alone dared by letter to plead her cause. 
This letter is given at length in various histories.* 
That it was written with the design of aiding the 
Queen, is fully apparent ; and yet, with the greatest 
caution, not to defend her so warmly as to ex- 
cite anew the evil feelings of the King. While 
he protests that he was most bound to her of all 
creatures hving, next to his Grace, he beseeches 
the King to suffer him to wish and pray that she 
may declare herself inculpable and innocent. 
" I am in such a perplexity," he says, " that my 
mind is clean amazed ; for I never had better 
opinion in woman than I had in her ; which 
maketh me to think that she could not be cul- 
pable." 

We must reflect, for a moment, on the despot- 
ic power of Henry, and the imphcit deference 
exercised towards him, to excuse in any degree 
the inactivity of Anne's former friends. We feel 
far from satisfied with the only one that made any 
attempt to bring the King to reflection ; and this 
was Cranmer. Yet it would have been proba- 
bly a useless sacrifice of his own life, had he ex- 

* Burnet's " History of the Reformation," Vol. II. ; 
« British State Trials," &c. 



76 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

erted himself warmly in her cause. The methods 
he made use of were prudent and cautious, but 
failed, as all others would have done. We hope, 
for the sake of human nature, that he urged to see 
the Queen in her prison ; but this would be a matter 
between the King and himself, and was not grant- 
ed. She was doomed to linger through her days 
of suspense without the consolation of sympathy. 
At length she was summoned to her trial, pro- 
nounced guilty of high treason, and sentenced to 
be burned. 

We may imagine what her agony was at this 
terrible prospect, and how she might be wrought 
on to confess herself guilty in the hope of mitigat- 
ing the sentence. But, with all this natural hor- 
ror acting upon her mind, she never for an instant 
wavered in declaring her innocence of all offence 
save the pre-contract, which she evidently did not 
understand legally. 

It was now necessary that a divorce should be 
obtained, in order that Elizabeth, the daughter of 
Anne, should be rendered illegitimate. The 
Archbishop was called on to pronounce the sen- 
tence of divorce. This was done at Lambeth, 
he sitting as judge. 

Till we reflect fully on the circumstances, we 
are shocked that any human authority could have 
compelled him to such a step. But Anne had 
confessed the pre-contract with another before, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 77 

her marriage, and confessed it at Lambeth before 
Cranmer. In his office of judge he was obliged 
to pronounce the sentence of divorce. That he 
was deeply afflicted, there is abundant testimony. 
Other motives probably operated upon his mind. 
He thought, if Anne was no longer an obstacle to 
the King's marriage, but was fairly divorced, her 
hfe might be spared, and a pardon granted ; but no 
such mercy was in store for her. In consequence 
of her confession, her sentence of burning was 
commuted to beheading. 

When all suspense was over, and she knew that 
she must die, and the manner of her death, some 
natural feeling of apprehension seems to have 
clung to her, as she expressed to the executioner, 
Mr. Kingston. " ' Mr. Kingston, I hear say I 
shall not die this afternoon ; and I am very sorry 
therefore ; for I thought to be dead by this time, 
and past my pain.' I told her it would be no 
pain, it was so sottle. ' I have a little neck,' said 
she, laughing, and put her hands about it. I have 
seen many men and women executed ; and that 
they have been in much sorrow ; but this lady, to 
my knowledge, has joy and pleasure in death." * 

Thus ended the life of Anne Boleyn, in ] 536, 
the very year of Catharine's death. Catholic 
historians have argued presumptions of her guilt, 

* Kingston's letter. 



78 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

because her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, instituted 
no process to prove her innocence during her 
reign. On the score of prudence, it agreed with 
her wary poHcy to let the question of succession, 
now at rest, remain so. And then how could 
she institute an inquiry, without rendering her 
father's memory as execrable as it deserved to be. 
She acted in this respect with her usual wisdom. 
Of the unfortunate Anne there is now httle to be 
said. Her great fault was ambition, and dearly 
she paid for it. Her advocates say, for five 
years she resisted the King's criminal suit, and., 
finally obliged him to make her his Queen, There 
is little of honor in that virtue which suffered such 
an assault for five years, nor is it uncandid to sup- 
pose that her coquetry kept alive his passion. 
She frequented his tilts and tournaments, when she 
knew herself to be the object of them, and some- 
times retired from the Court, and sometimes re- 
turned to it. We have seen many queen it on a 
smaller scale, and with a far less object than a di- 
adem ; but the want of truth and exalted virtue is 
the same. Poor Anne Boleyn ! for what does her 
history now serve, but to " point a moral." Let 
us use it then as we may. We are not fond of 
talking of retribution ; it is a mysterious subject, 
and may be the source of uncharitable mistakes. 
But there was a remarkable coincidence between 
Anne's errors and her misfortunes. Neither her 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 79 

youth, nor her thoughtlessness, nor her constitu- 
tional gayety, can lead us to overlook her want of 
feeling for Catharine of Aragon, nor the little 
remorse with which she took possession of her 
throne. Three years afterwards, how bitterly was 
the pang brought home to her own heart. Did she 
not then think of the injured Queen } We are 
told that she did, and of the Princess Mary, and 
sent a message to the latter, imploring her for- 
giveness for any harshness she might have shown 
towards her in her relation of step-mother. 

Then, too, from the early attachment between 
herself and Percy of Northumberland, arose an- 
other striking coincidence. She had slighted his 
honest love in the prospect of a crown ; she had 
relinquished his affection in consequence of the 
unrighteous pursuit of the monarch ; and, on that 
very peg, he hung his accusation, — on the pre- 
contract (if there was one) which he had severed. 
Truly, " the gods make scourges " of our errors 
as well as vices. In these points, we think, con- 
sist the whole of Anne's offences ; and " griev- 
ously did she atone for them." 

Her last letter to the King ought not to be 
omitted. 

'* Sir, Your Grace's displeasure, and my im- 
prisonment, are things so strange unto me, as what 
to write, or what to excuse, I am altogether igno- 



80 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

rant. Whereas you send unto me, (willing me 
to confess a truth, and so obtain your favor,) by 
such an one whom you know to be mine ancient 
professed enemy, I no sooner received this mes- 
sage by him, than I rightly conceived your mean- 
ing ; and as if, as you say, confessing a truth in- 
deed may procure my safety, I shall with all wil- 
lingness and duty, perform your command. 

"But let not your Grace ever imagine, that 
your poor wife will ever be brought to acknowl- 
edge a fault, where not so much as a thought 
thereof preceded. And to speak a truth, never 
prince had wife more loyal in all duty, and in 
all true affection, than you have ever found in 
Anne Boleyn, with which name and place I could 
willingly have contented myself, if God, and your 
Grace's pleasure, had been so pleased. Neither 
did I, at any time, so far forget myself in my ex- 
altation, or received Queenship, but that I alw^ays 
looked for such an alteration as now I find ; for 
the ground of my preferment being on no surer 
foundation than your Grace's fancy, the least al- 
teration, I knew, was fit and sufficient to draw 
that fancy to some other subject. You have 
chosen me from a low estate, to be your Queen 
and companion, far beyond my desert or desire. 
If then you found me worthy of such honor, 
good your Grace, let not any light fancy, or bad 
counsel of mine enemies, withdraw your princely 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 81 

favor from me ; neither let that stain, that unwor- 
thy stain of a disloyal heart towards your good 
Grace, ever cast so foul a blot on your most du- 
tiful wife, and the infant princess your daughter. 
Try me, good King, but let me have a lawful 
trial, and let not my sworn enemies sit as my ac- 
cusers and judges ; yea, let me receive an open 
trial, for my truth shall fear no open shame ; then 
shall you see, either mine innocency cleared, 
your suspicion and conscience satisfied, the igno- 
miny and slander of the world stopped, or my 
guilt openly declared. So that whatsoever God 
or you may determine of me, your Grace may be 
freed from an open censure ; and, mine offence 
being so lawfully proved, your Grace is at liberty, 
both before God and man, not only to execute 
worthy punishment on me as an unlawful wife, but 
to follow your affection, already settled on that 
party, for whose sake I am now as I am, whose 
name I could some good while since have pointed 
unto ; your Grace being not ignorant of my sus- 
picion therein. 

^' But, if you have already determined of me, 
and that not only my death, but an infamous slan- 
der, must bring you the enjoying of your desired 
happiness, then I desire of God, that he will par- 
don your great sin therein, and likewise mine en- 
emies, the instruments thereof ; and that he will 
not call you to a strict account for your unprince- 
6 



82 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

\y and cruel usage of me, at his general judgment 
seat, where both you and myself must shortly ap- 
pear, and in whose judgment, I doubt not, (what- 
soever the world may think of me,) mine inno- 
cence shall be openly known, and sufficiently 
cleared. 

'' My last and only request shall be, that my- 
self may only bear the burthen of your Grace's 
displeasure, and that it may not touch the inno- 
cent souls of those poor gentlemen, who (as I 
understand) are likewise in strait imprisonment 
for my sake. If ever I have found favor in your 
sight, if ever the name of Anne Boleyn hath been 
pleasing in your ears, then let me obtain this re- 
quest ; and I will so leave to trouble your Grace 
any further, with mine earnest prayers to the 
Trinity to have your Grace in his good keeping, 
and to direct you in all your actions. From my 
doleful prison in the Tower, this 6th of May. 

" Your most loyal and ever faithful wife, 

" Anne Boleyn." 

The night before her execution, she sent to 
the King the following noble message. " Tell 
him, I thank him that he has still continued to 
advance me ; from a private gentlewoman, he 
^ first made me a Marchioness, then a Queen, and, 

now that he can raise me no higher on earth, he 
is sending me to be a saint in heaven." 



JCRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 83 

to ^<MM4 
f 

The day after the execution, the King led Jane 
Seymour to the ahar, and by this violation of 
common decency, evinced the motive of his 
persecution. Indeed, so impatient was he for 
Anne's death, that he ordered cannon to be fired 
as a signal that the deed was done. 

The intelligence of these events filled all Eu- 
rope with horror and astonishment. Cranmer 
came in for his share of indignation. But we are 
told by able casuists, that " what he did was un- 
avoidable ; for, whatever motives drew from her 
the confession of a pre-contract, he was obliged 
to give sentence upon it." 

Lady Mary, daughter of Catharine of Aragon, 
now wrote a humble letter to the King, and de- 
sired to be admitted to his presence, asserting 
that, whereas she had formerly troubled him by 
her obstinacy, she now freely submitted to the 
laws of the land about the succession. 

The King was by no means contented with this 
submission, and insisted on her acknowledging 
him to be the supreme head of the Church, and 
the Pope's authority an assumed one ; and also on 
her declaring that his marriage with her mother was 
unlawful and void. After much debate and writ- 
ing many letters to Cromwell, she at length yield- 
ed, and sent a paper containing a full submission 
to all the articles the King required, and signed 
it with her own hand. She was then received 



84 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

into favor, and an establishment was provided for 
her. The allowance made for her private ex- 
penses was one hundred and sixty pounds a year 1 
Elizabeth does not appear to have shared the 
disgrace of her mother. She was bred at Court, 
and treated with maternal affection by the new 
Queen, whose sweetness of disposition seems to 
be allowed by all. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 85 



CHAPTER VII. 

In looking back upon former periods of history, 
nothing can be more unjust or erroneous than to 
measure men by present opinions. This particu- 
larly applies to Americans, a nation who have 
never known the yoke of despotism, and who 
cannot easily bring their minds to believe that a 
fellow-mortal, "dressed in a little, brief authority," 
could cramp and paralyze even the moral powers 
of the mind. It seems, however, at this time, 
to have excited indignation among European 
powers, that Cranmer could be even a subordinate 
actor in such scenes of tyrannical injustice and 
cruelty. There can be no doubt that the Arch- 
bishop entertained the highest idea of kingly 
power, and believed himself bound by his office 
to pronounce the sentences of divorce on the for- 
mer and on this occasion. 

With regard to Catharine, his convictions were 
sincere, that the marriage was unlawful ; with re- 
gard to Anne, we do not believe that he for a mo- 
ment thought her guilty. Where, then, shall we 
find an apology for an unrighteous deed. The 
most obvious was before suggested ; that he con- 



86 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

sidered, that, by pronouncing the divorce, the 
wrath of Henry might be mitigated, and Anne 
permitted to Hve. 

Another reason, no doubt, acted powerfully 
on the mind of the Archbishop ; and this was, 
his entire devotion to the cause of the Reforma- 
tion. It engrossed his whole soul, and all things 
else were minor. Though his mild and kind- 
ly character, his own assertion in his letter to 
the King, that " he never had so high an opinion 
of any woman as of Anne," his long intimacy 
with her, and his knowledge of her private char- 
ities, are a sufficient evidence, that, whether he 
beheved her guilty or innocent, his distress must 
have been great ; yet he does not appear to have 
relaxed for a moment his efforts in this great 
cause. In the same letter to the King, he con- 
trives to introduce the subject. "Wherefore, 
I trust that your Grace will bear no less entire 
favor unto the truths of the Gospel, than you did 
before ; forsomuch as your Grace's favor to the 
Gospel was not led by affection unto her, but by 
zeal unto the truth." The last assertion, whether 
made with perfect simpHcity, or founded on the 
traits of the King's character, was well calculated 
to answer the purpose designed. 

It is time to quit this unwelcome subject. The 
Cathohcs were sanguine that the death of Anne 
would restore the kingdom to its popish allegiance. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 87 

But the new Parliament that was called, entirely 
extinguished this hope. On the contrary, their 
measures were such as to render the royal author- 
ity complete. Not a shadow of importance was 
left for the Pope, and the power of the crown 
was more despotic and absolute than any which 
had been before assumed by the kings. 

At this time, the famous Articles were drawn 
up, and after being revised and corrected by the 
King, were published with this title ; " Articles 
devised by the King's Highness, to stablish quiet- 
ness and unity, and to avoid contentious opin- 
ions." An historian says ; " The publication of 
these articles may justly be considered as the sun- 
rise of our doctrinal Reformation." Though 
they contain remnants of Romish opinions, there 
is a uniform reference to Scripture throughout, 
and the spirit of Cranmer is easily discernible. 
Indeed, he was now considered the head of the 
Protestant party, and, as such, his path was a 
thorny one. He was subject to petty, but ha- 
rassing opposition, and a foohsh story, for which 
there was no ground, was invented, of his being 
originally an ostler. An ignorant priest express- 
ed his surprise, that a man who was early in life 
an ostler, and had no more learning than a goose, 
should be so much extolled. He was committed 
to the Fleet, by some of the zealous admirers of 
Cranmer, and, after remaining there a few days, 



88 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

sent an humble petition to the Archbishop for 
pardon. This led Cranmer to inquire into the 
nature of his offence, and he ordered the priest 
brought into his presence. 

"Did you ever see me before this day ? " said 
the primate. 

" Never," replied the priest. 

"Why, then," said Cranmer, "did you call 
me an ostler, and report that I had no more learn- 
ing than a gosling ? " 

" Alas ! " said the priest, " I was drunk or 
beside myself." 

"Well," replied Cranmer, "produce your 
own learning, and confound me now. Begin In 
grammar, if you will ; or else in science and di- 
vinity." 

" Indeed, my lord," said the priest, much 
confused, " I do not understand the Latin tongue ; 
I can only speak English." 

" Be it so," replied Cranmer ; " you read the 
Bible of course. Who was David's father ? " 

The priest acknowledged that he really did 
not know. 

" Then, perhaps," said Cranmer, " you will 
inform me, who was the father of Solomon .'' " 

The priest now protested that he knew nothing 
of the genealogies, and the Archbishop closed 
this amusing examination by giving him his liberty 
and dismissing him. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 89 

One great difficulty, which vexed Cranmer, was 
tlie impossibility of suppressing the many superflu- 
ous holydays ; though he set the exaoiple himself 
by disregarding the festival of Thomas a Becket. 
He considered them all as inlets to idleness and 
disorder, and ruinous to the families of laborers, 
besides keeping up the ancient superstitions. It 
was with much regret he found that they were wel- 
comed and observed at the King's Court, where 
no opportunity of a popish festival was disregarded. 
He wroie to Cromwell on this subject, and adds 
the following striking sentence. " But, my lord, 
if in the Court you do keep such holydays and 
fasting days as be abrogated, when shall we per- 
suade the people to cease from keeping them ? 
For the King's own house shall be an example 
unto all the realm, to break his own ordinances." 
We see, in this spirited remonstrance, a courage 
worthy of his character. 

One of the pleasantest circumstances that oc- 
curred to Cranmer during this year, was the com- 
pletion of the Bible in Enghsh, in one great foho 
volume, known by the name of " Matthew's Bi- 
ble." This name was fictitious, as it was trans- 
lated by Coverdale and Tyndal. The melancholy 
fate of the latter may not be passed unnoticed. 
He early imbibed the doctrines of Luther, and, 
after residing some time at Cambridge, went to the 
continent, that he might, with greater security, 



90 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

print his translation of the New Testament into 
English. At Antwerp he was seized as a heretic, 
and imprisoned. Cromwell wrote for his release, 
and many interested themselves in his favor. But 
in vain ; he was condemned, first strangled, and 
then his remains burned near Antwerp. So great 
was his zeal and perseverance, that he was called 
the " Apostle of England." * 

This Bible was distributed in every direction, 
and one was chained to the desk of each of the 
parochial churches. The zeal with which it was 
read and sought after was surprising. Assem- 
blies of mechanics and laborers collected to 
listen. Youth and age discovered equal eager- 
ness. Often the motley group were seen seated 
on the green sward around the lecturer ; for not 
only Bibles were rare, but readers too. There 
might be seen the old man bending forward, with 
his grey locks, and his aged partner in her snowy 
kerchief, with decent coif thrown back, lest a 
word should fall unheeded on the dull ear of age. 
In groups behind, sat youths and maidens, their 
little interests and mutual sympathies suspended, 

* The corrector of the translation was John Rogers, 
the martyr, of Primer memory, a distinguished divine in 
Edward's reign, and the first doomed to the stake under 
that of his successor. 

Wiclif had translated the New Testament more than 
a century before. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 91 

with lips unclosed and eager eyes fixed on the 
reader, who usually chanted forth the words of 
Scripture, and sometimes quickened their atten- 
tion by involuntary stops at strange names, or un- 
familiar words. Nor must childhood be left out 
of the group. Infants in their mothers' arms, and 
children too young to remain behind, the solitary 
tenants of the cottage, — thoughtless little beings 
who listen for a few moments, and then sleep or 
play. 

Often, too, when the services of the Sabbath 
were over, which were prolonged till sunset, a 
group collected to hear the Bible read in the 
grave-yard, seating themselves on the mossy 
stones, or the new mounds covered with fresh 
springing grass. Desolate mourners were there, 
the widowed partner, the bereaved mother who 
had buried her last hope, and the orphan thrown 
on the wide world. O ! what to them must have 
been the joy, as they hstened ! " I am the res- 
urrection and the life ; he that beheveth in me, 
though he were dead, yet shall he hve." And is 
this book so changed, that we now read and hear 
it "as a tale that is told" .'* Must we have novelty 
to stimulate us .'' or are its precepts and its prom- 
ises so familiar to us, that they no longer come like 
" tidings of great joy " ? 

As soon as the translation had been completed, 
Cranmer sent one to Cromwell, requesting him to 



92 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

present it to the King. This Cromwell did, and 
the Archbishop writes him in return, that ''he 
had thereby made his memory famous to posterity 
within the realm, among all such as should here- 
after be favorers of God's Word ; and that he 
should hear of this good deed of his at the last 
day. That for his part, it was such a content to 
his mind, that he could not have done him a 
greater pleasure if he had given him a thousand 
pounds. And that such knowledge would ensue 
hereupon, that it should appear he had done ex- 
cellent service both to God and the King." 

It must not be forgotten, that Cranmer first 
opened this book to the people ; a book that had 
been so long sealed to those who most required 
religious instruction.* 

Another book about this time was published, 
called the Bishop's Book. Its real title v/as, 

* To those who have never met with the little personal 
history of William Maiden, related in Strype's " Memori- 
als of Cranmer," it will be interesting- as told from himself. 

"When the King first allowed the Bible to be set forth 
to be read in churches, immediately several poor men 
in the town of Chelmsford, in Essex, where his father 
lived, and he was born, bought the New Testament, and 
on Sundays sat reading of it in the lower end of the 
church. Many would flock about them to hear their read- 
ing; and he among the rest, being then but fifteen years 
old, came every Sunday to hear the glad and sweet ti- 
dings of the Gospel. But his father, observing it once, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 93 

" The Institution of a Christian Man." This was 
first brought forward by Cranmer, but it after- 
wards took the name of the King's Book, from 
being republished under the royal license. By 
the Archbishop's agency, also, the Creed, the 
Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, 
were allowed to be taught in English. 

Thus far, Cranmer had proceeded, and, if we 
look back to the time when he was raised to the 
primacy, we shall be astonished at the progress 
of reform. The King was wedded to the Cath- 
olic forms, and had not the Pope's supremacy in- 
terfered with his own, he would have suffered him 

fetched him away angrily, and would have him to say the 
Latin matins with him, which grieved him much. This 
put him upon the thoughts of learning to read English, 
that so he might read the New Testament himself, which, 
when he had by diligence effected, he and his father's 
apprentice bought the New Testament, joining their 
stocks together ; and, to conceal it, laid it under the bed 
straw and read it at convenient times. One night, his 
father being asleep, he and his mother chanced to dis- 
course concerning the crucifix, and the form of kneeling 
down to it, and knocking on the breast, and holding up 
the hands to it when it came by in procession. This, he 
told his mother, was plain idolatry, and against the com- 
mandment of God, where he saith, ' Thou shalt not make 
any graven image, nor bow down to it, nor worship it.' 
His mother, enraged at him for this, said, 'Wilt thou not 
worship the cross which was about thee when thou wert 
christened, and must be laid on thee when thou art 



94 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

to enjoy it uninterruptedly. In several instances, 
Cranmer boldly opposed the King, particularly in 
the appropriation of the wealth of religious houses 
to his own use. He had already seized on many 
of the monasteries, and at length Cranmer spoke 
with earnestness on the subject, and proposed va- 
rious schemes for throwing this treasure into use- 
ful channels. " Let us not," said he, " consume 
it for the purposes of luxury ; let it rather be ex- 
pended on high roads." He proposed instituting 
colleges of priests, composed of students just re- 
moved, and well recommended, from the univer- 
sities. They were to be under control of the 

dead ? ' In this heat, the mother and son departed, and 
went to their beds. The sum of this evening's confer- 
ence she presently repeats to her husband, which he, 
impatient to hear, and boiling in fury against his son for 
denying the worship due to the cross, arose up forthwith, 
and goes into his son's chamber, and, like a mad zealot, 
taking him by the hair of his head, pulled him out of the 
bed and whipped him unmercifully. And when the young 
man bore this beating with a kind of joy, considering it 
was for Christ's sake, and shed not a tear, his father, 
seeing that, was more enraged, and ran down and fetched 
an halter, and put it about his neck, saying he would 
hang him. At, length, with much entreaty of the mother 
and brother, he left him half dead." 

We surely may see here the spirit of the martyrs. 
Though the relation was not made till Queen Eliza- 
beth's reign, the circumstance took place in Henry the 
Eighth's. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 95 

bishops, who might promote them, according to 
their abilities, to parochial charges. ^ 

The King, however, had other intentions, and 
spoke decisively on the subject. Immediately, 
all gave way to his royal will, and Cranmer was 
left alone to brave the storm. He still, however, 
continued his opposition ; and it soon began to be 
whispered that the primate's influence was greatly 
lessened, the Protestant cause tottering, and Gar- 
diner, the Bishop of Winchester, one of the 
leaders of the Catholic party, rapidly gaining 
ground. 

This wily statesman, or ecclesiastic, as the 
times called for, thought it now a favorable mo- 
ment to strike a blow at the Protestant par- 
ty. He was aided by the Duke of Norfolk in 
this enterprise, and their representations greatly 
moved the King. Nothing, however, rescued the 
monasteries from his avarice. Images, shrines, and 
rehcs were treated as rubbish, and even Thomas 
a Becket, the saint of Canterbury, whose tomb 
had been the object of pilgrimages, and whose 
remains had performed miracles, for centuries, was 
now doomed to be tried in a court of justice. It 
was thought that a splendid jewel, formerly be- 
stowed on his shrine by Louis the Seventh of 
France, greatly increased the King's zeal. How- 
ever that may be, he cited the saint to appear at 
Court, and had him tried and condemned as a 



96 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

traitor, ordered his name to be struck out of the 
Calendar, his bones to be burned, and the ashes 
scattered to the winds, and all his treasures con- 
fiscated to himself! 

The capricious extravagance with which he 
dispensed the wealth thus acquired is almost in- 
credible, giving abbeys as a reward to a cook who 
had dressed a dish to his taste, and making even 
more disgraceful donations. 

The only religious question, which Henry 
through his life supported with unwavering zeal, 
was, the corporeal presence of Christ in the 
eucharist. Gardiner represented to the King, 
that severe persecution of those who denied it 
would establish his character for piety, and zeal 
against heretics. An unfortunate opportunity pre- 
sented itself in the person of John Nicolson or 
Lambert, who had denied the real presence. He 
was first summoned before Cranmer, who mildly 
and judiciously strove to make him retract a pa- 
per that he had sent forth. Unhappily for him, he 
appealed from the Archbishop to the King. The 
disgusting parade of a trial, in which poor Lambert 
was silenced by the learning and arguments of the 
King, his condemnation, and barbarous execu- 
^tion, all are too well known to need a repeti- 
tion ; nor would it have now been alluded to, 
but as a proof that at that time Cranmer pro- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 97 

fessed and maintained the papist's doctrine of the 
eucharist. 

Bonner, about this time, was elected as succes- 
sor to the Bishop of Hereford. He had early- 
been sent to Rome to plead the King's cause be- 
fore the Pope, Clement, but did it with such im- 
prudent zeal, that the Holy Father threatened to 
throw him into a caldron of boiling lead, and he 
was glad to make his escape. Soon after his 
promotion, it became evident to Cranmer that he 
favored the Catholic cause. 

The birth of an heir to the English crown, on 
the 12th of October, 1537, produced an ex- 
travagant joy in the feelings of the King. For 
eight-and-twenty years he had been looking for- 
ward to a successor in the male line. The 
Queen scarcely lived long enough to participate 
in the general joy, or to comprehend the ecstatic 
feelings of a mother. She died a few hours after 
the birth of her son. 

Of Jane, little seems to be said in history, 
except that her conduct was full of meekness 
and discretion. Happily for herself, she did 
not live long to try the constancy of her royal 
spouse. 

The name of Edward was given to the Prince 
at his baptism. Archbishop Cranmer, the Duke 
of Norfolk, and the Lady Mary, were his spon- 
7 



98 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

sors. The Lady Elizabeth at that time was but 
little over four years old. A letter of hers is re- 
corded by Strype. But there appears to be but 
little evidence that it was wholly indited by a 
child. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 99 



CHAPTER VTII. 

There is no period in Cranmer's life, in 
which his resolute and unwearied efforts were 
more faithfully exerted, than in his endeavour to 
convert the spoils of religious houses to the pur- 
poses of learning and benevolence. Those noble 
buildings which have since become the residence 
of owls and bats, might, had the Archbishop's 
voice been hstened to, have afforded shelter to 
the sick and houseless, or have been converted 
into colleges and hospitals. But these required the 
funds, which Henry had otherwise appropriated. 
The picturesque ruins of many an ancient build- 
ing, overgrown with ivy, and desolate in its beau- 
ty, remain to tell the story of royal cupidity, and 
to furnish a study to the artist. 

The Pope, once more, had recourse to excom- 
munication, and declared the King guilty of atro- 
cious crimes, inviting the Scottish monarch to 
take possession of the British throne. But the 
thunder of the Vatican communicated as little ter- 
ror to the English nation, as if it had been the 
music of the spheres ; and the flashes of its light- 



,/ 



100 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

ning were as harmless as the aurora boreahs of a 
winter evening. 

Except by Cranmer, the interests of the Ref- 
ormation were feebly promoted. Cromwell was 
regarded with disdain by the aristocracy, and usu- 
ally styled, by way of contempt, " the blacksmith's 
son." His own character had not that imposing 
power that puts down oblique slanders. He was 
useful to the King and unscrupulous ; but Henry 
treated him with little deference. Bishop Lati- 
mer, though fervent and sincere, was wholly igno- 
rant of character, and often excited ridicule by 
his ill-timed zeal and simphcity. His sermons 
sometimes lasted three hours, and Cranmer took 
occasion to admonish him on their length, as also 
to inculcate worldly wisdom. Shaxton, Bishop 
of Salisbury, was greatly deficient in discretion, 
and was continually engaged in disputes with the 
reformed clergy, when unanimity was all-important 
to the cause. Bonner had been promoted to the 
prelacy, and at the time Cranmer fully relied up- 
on him as a cooperator in the cause of Scriptural 
truth. But he was no sooner fixed in his elevated 
station, than he threw off the mask. 

A revolution in the sentiments of the King be- 
came manifest. A new Parhament was assem- 
bled. After long debate it ended in proposing six 
articles for consideration. 

1st. Whether the real body of Christ was 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 101 

present in the eucharlst, without any transubstan- 
tiation. 

2d. Whether that sacrament should be admin- 
istered in both kinds to the laity. 

3d. Whether the vows of chastity, made by 
men or women, are binding by the law of God. 

4th. Whether the same law warrants the cele- 
bration of private masses. 

5th. \yhether it allows the marriage of priests. 

6th. Whether it makes auricular confession 
necessary. 

Against the Romish interpretation of these ar- 
ticles, Cranmer contended with unabated zeal. 
All the powers of his mind, and all the resolution 
of his character, were brought to the contest. 
Nothing could exceed the heat of the debate. 

Henry at length appeared in person, and per- 
ceiving that the eloquent opposition of Cranmer 
could not be checked, he commanded him to ab- 
sent himself from the house. 

Cranmer firmly but respectfully refused to 
comply. '' It is God's cause," said he, " that 
keeps me here ; not my own." 

Henry yielded the point, to the astonishment 
of all. 

There can be no greater tribute to the virtue 
of Cranmer, than the respect he always com- 
manded from the despotic and overbearing mon- 
arch. 



102 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

The six articles were adopted in their fullest 
extent, and the most horrible penalties attached 
to their non-observance. Latimer and Shaxton 
testified their abhorrence of this measure by re- 
signing. For a moment, it must shake our faith^ 
in Cranmer's virtue, to find that he did not do the 
same. But there is every reason to suppose, that 
he reahzed that the future success or downfall of 
the Protestant cause rested on his continuance at 
his post. He must have still felt, that, though he 
was not consulted by Henry on religious affairs, 
as formerly, yet his influence was great with 
him, and he might do much towards promoting 
the reformed doctrines. We doubt not that he 
saw the murderous scourge uplifted, and hoped, 
in some measure, to avert its fury. 

The exultation of the Catholics could not fail 
of being great. Henry, they said, was fast re- 
turning to the true faith, — to the arms of the 
mother Church. 

The dejection of the reformers was in the 
same proportion. But Cranmer, over and above 
the blight thus given to the restoration of Scrip- 
tural Christianity, had reason to mourn over the 
destruction of his domestic happiness. After his 
precipitate and injudicious marriage with the niece 
of Osiander, he did not venture to bring her to 
England, but left her to the painful suspense of a 
temporary separation. His wife, who seems to 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES, 103 

have been a second Meta, and possessed the ten- 
derness and truth of the excellent Klopstock's, 
acquiesced in a measure that he convinced her 
was the wisest, and remained in Germany, with 
her uncle, still pursuing her household occupa- 
tions, and lightening the arduous cares that must 
otherwise have pressed upon him. 

The income of a German pastor barely sup- 
plied the necessaries of life. They were like the 
early patriarchs, without the rich flocks of Jacob 
and of Laban. Their pastures, " green to the 
very door " of the dwelling, domesticated the an- 
imals with the family. The humble peasant was 
welcome to their meals, and the poor mendicant 
to its frugal fragments. The time of the minister 
was his treasure, and this he freely dispensed to 
the sorrowful, the sick, and the dying. A large 
portion, however, was reserved for his literary 
pursuits. Every sincere Protestant felt himself 
bound to aid the cause of Luther and the Refor- 
mation by his pen, and Meta, by taking the secu- 
lar cares of the little parsonage upon herself, in- 
directly aided the cause. While Osiander was 
deeply engaged in polemic works, the wife of the 
Primate of England was performing the humblest 
household duties. 

The time, however, arrived, when Cranmer 
thought it safe to send for her to England, as some 
suppose, with the connivance of the King. At 



104 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

any rate, he did not publicly acknowledge her, 
but lived with her in great harmony, and they had 
several children. 

The late act of the six articles, which struck 
directly at the marriage of the clergy, determined 
the Archbishop to send her immediately back 
with his children to Germany. He had most 
zealously and daringly opposed the bill ; Strype 
says, on account of the cruel penalties which 
guarded it. His refusing to quit the Court, when 
ordered to by the King, filled every one with as- 
tonishment. His friends and enemies fully ex- 
pected that he would be committed to the Tower. 
On the contrary, the King seems to have felt for 
the distress of the Archbishop. 

If there was one redeeming point in Henry's na- 
ture, it was his faithful attachment to a man, whose 
virtue was unquestionable. Henry, with the ca- 
price and lightness with which he mixed up all 
affairs, immediately declared his intention of dining 
the next day at Lambeth with the Archbishop, and 
invited the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Essex, 
and all the peers of Parliament. He loved to 
create these surprises among his courtiers, and 
disappoint their expectations. 

"My Lord Archbishop," said Essex, ''you 
were born in a happy hour. You can do nothing 
amiss. Were T to do half of what you have 
done, ray head must answer for it." 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 105 

We at times have attributed to Cranmer a 
pliancy to the King's purposes, that evinces a 
vi^ant of firmness and resolution, perhaps more 
the deficiency of nature than of principle. This 
observation, however, of Essex, proves the inde- 
pendent ground which he often took. The visit 
to Lambeth, the King conceived, would effec- 
tually obviate the impression that many enter- 
tained of Cranmer's declining favor. 

However comfortable to the Archbishop must 
have been the assurance of the King's good 
graces, we can easily believe he would willingly 
have dispensed with this demonstration of it. 
The melancholy conviction was just forced upon 
him, that Henry was returning to " the idolatry 
of his youth," and that he must part with a be- 
loved wife to secure her safety. Weary and irk- 
some must have been the festivity to which the 
King had invited his peers. 

After they had assembled, Norfolk arose and 
signified to the Primate the King's pleasure, that 
they should comfort him with the assurance that 
the good will of his Majesty was unimpaired 
towards him ; that he had shown great learning 
and skill in the opposition, and he must not be 
discouraged or cast down at the unsuccessful 
result. 

Cranmer professed himself deeply grateful for 
this mark of royal condescension, and replied 



K^y 



106 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

with dignity, that he hoped the time might arrive 
when his allegations and authorities would prevail, 
to the glory of God, and the commodity of the 
realm. 

It was said of Cardinal Wolsey, that, "by the 
violence of his temper in managing a debate, he 
would often change his friends into enemies. 
Whereas the Archbishop, by his mildness, made 
his enemies friends." 

Whatever became a law of the land, Cranmer 
seems to have made it a principle to submit to, 
however earnestly he had in the first place op- 
posed it. He now felt that duty required him to 
sacrifice his domestic happiness to one of the six 
articles, the celibacy of the priesthood, by send- 
ing his wife and children to Germany ; and the 
King no sooner heard of this circumstance, than 
he sent a kind and consoling message to him by 
Cromwell, the vicar-general. 

Another important step was taken, wholly sub- 
versive of English hberty. Parliament gave to 
Henry's proclamations the force of law. He 
had only to issue them without convening the Par- 
liament. This made him despotic. 

The age of tilts and tournaments was past with 
Henry, but he determined to celebrate his tri- 
umph over the Court of Rome by a naval exhi- 
bition on the Thames. Who was the contriver 
of this exhibition has not come down to us, but 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 107 

probably, from its character, Henry was the sug- 
gester. 

Two galleys, splendidly equipped and deco- 
rated, one with the royal, the other with the pon- 
tifical arms, were seen approaching each other by 
a numerous crowd of spectators. A stubborn 
conflict ensued. The Pope and Cardinals were 
seated in full view on the deck. At first, the 
royal flag seemed in some peril ; but suddenly the 
royalists were seen boarding their antagonist, and 
in a few moments the Pope and different Cardi- 
nals were , successively thrown into the water, 
amidst the acclamations of the King, the Court, 
and the citizens. 

Well might a French writer say, it was " un 
jeu de pauvre grace, et de moindre invention." 
We can hardly imagine a less ingenious exhibition 
of royal dignity. 

Some time had elapsed since Henry became 
a widower, and he began to think of taking an- 
other Queen. After much debate, he was pre- 
vailed on by Cromwell to fix his views upon Anne 
of Cleves. The King had greatly increased in 
size as he advanced in life, and he now stipulated 
that the partner of his throne should not be infe- 
rior to him in size. 

This match was particularly gratifying to the 
Protestant party, as Anne's sister had married 
the Elector of Saxony, and her father had great 



108 CRANMEE, AND HIS TIMES. 

influence among the Lutheran princes. Cranmer 
saw that this might produce a favorable effect up- 
on the reformed religion, and, of course, advised 
to the marriage. 

By the diligence of Cromwell, a picture of 
Anne, painted by Hans Holbein, was obtained for 
the monarch. With this he was so much en- 
chanted, that he became extremely impatient for 
the nuptials. Anne was sent by her father to 
England, and Henry's eagerness to behold his 
bride was so great, that he went privately to 
Rochester to get sight of her. He found her 
big to his heart's content, but wholly unlike the 
flattered portrait by Hans Holbein. 

The disappointment and indignation of the 
King surpassed all bounds. It was necessary, 
however, that he should throw off his disguise, 
and make himself known. He certainly was in 
no state to "nourish that love," for which the 
disguise was assumed. Her features were coarse, 
her manners ungraceful, and her figure ill propor- 
tioned. When she was introduced to him, he 
shrunk back ; but on her bending the knee, he 
raised her up and kissed her, but did not enter 
into any conversation. After a short time he re- 
tired to his own apartment, and, sending for the 
lords who had accompanied him, bemoaned his 
miserable lot. 

The next morning he hastened back to Green- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 109 

wich, without soliciting an interview with the 
Princess, and sent for Cromwell, telling him, he 
must show as much dexterity in getting rid of 
Anne as he had in bringing her. 

Cromwell was really perplexed ; and, in the 
first place, waited on the princess, and secretly 
insinuating that so many charms must have been 
an object of contention, endeavoured to inveigle 
her into a confession of former engagements. 
The Princess, however, protested with great sim- 
plicity, that nothing of the kind had occurred, and 
that she came with a willing mind. 

The King, not being able to conjure up any 
excuse, and afraid of adding the German princes 
to his already numerous enemies, passionately ex- 
claimed, " Is there, then, no remedy ^ Must I 
put my neck into the noose .^" 

As there was no alternative, the ceremony 
took place. 

Upon further acquaintance, she did not win 
upon her royal husband. She spoke only Ger- 
man, possessed no accomplishments, and was 
wholly unlike what he desired. How to get rid 
of her, became now the King's object, and an- 
other Parliament was called. It is said that 
Cranmer presided over it. 

What was the ground of divorce, it is difficult 
to decide ; but the most prominent reason was, 
that the King had never given his internal consent. 



110 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Cromwell had hitherto maintained his place in 
Henry's favor, and had even been promoted to 
high honors. But symptoms soon appeared after 
the King's marriage with Anne of Cleves, that 
the reign of the courtier was near its end. 
Probably his agency in the marriage was a crime 
in the mind of the tyrannical monarch. 

But, added to this, a new flame was kindling in 
the heart of Henry. Catharine Howard had be- 
come the object of his affections ; and Catharine 
was niece to the Duke of Norfolk, the inveterate 
enemy of Cromwell, and easily became an agent 
in producing his disgrace. 

While the divorce was in agitation, Norfolk 
obtained a commission from the King to arrest 
Cromwell on an accusation of high treason, and 
convey him to the Tower. Without trial, exam- 
ination, or evidence, he was condemned to death. 
His fall occasioned great rejoicing to Gardiner, 
the Bishop of Winchester, as well as to many 
others. He had been greatly instrumental in the 
destruction of the religious houses ; and those, 
who had before flattered and crouched to him, 
now exulted and triumphed. His faults seem 
to have been less than most men's to whom were 
intrusted such high offices in the reign of Henry 
the Eighth, who had a wonderful power of ren- 
dering subservient to his will all around him. 
Cranmer wrote a letter to the King in behalf of 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. Ill 

his ally, but it met with no success. Cromwell 
at first endeavoured to soften the King by suppli- 
cations for mercy ; but, when brought to the place 
of execution, he met his fate with calmness. 
Thus died the faithful servant and friend of Wol- 
sey. 

After the marriage with Anne was annulled, 
Catharine Howard was raised to the throne in the 
same year, 1540. 

Anne seems to have acquiesced patiently in the 
decision. Probably she returned the King's aver- 
sion most heartily. When he offered to adopt 
her as a sister, and to make a settlement of three 
thousand pounds, she readily accepted it, and 
continued to live at Court, with the new Queen 
and Henry's daughter. 

It seemed now to be generally expected that 
Cranmer's disgrace was near. He had dared to 
intercede for Cromwell, even with earnestness. 
"I pray God," he says in his letter, " continu- 
ally, night and day, to send such a counsellor in 

his place w^hom your Grace may trust." 

'■'■ If he be a traitor, I am sorry I ever trusted 
him, and am glad that his treason is discovered in 
time. Alas ! I bewail your Grace herein, for I 
know not whom your Grace may trust." He 
says, he knows none who can and will serve his 
Grace like him. 

Cranmer stood now almost alone ; yet it does 



112 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES 

not appear that he yielded to the discouragement 
of his situation. The six articles had operated 
on all classes, and were continually bringing to 
the stake and the scaffold, martyrs of every de- 
scription. The friends to papal authority were 
arrested and condemned for denying the suprem- 
acy of the King ; the opposers of the Pope 
for denying the doctrine of the real presence ; in 
short, Henry had contrived to supply martyrs, 
till judges, jailers, and executioners were weary 
of their work. 

Articles were now brought forward by the 
Romanists, and offered to Cranmer for his appro- 
bation, probably thinking this was a suitable time 
to intimidate him. They represented to him, 
that the King was determined on the adoption of 
these articles, and warned him to avoid the fate 
of Cromwell by any opposition. They undoubt- 
edly relied on the flexibility of Cranmer's char- 
acter when the will of the King was made known. 
But in this instance he had a higher reference, 
— the truth. "Beware," said he, "what you 
do. The truth is but one ; and, though the King 
is now under sinister information, the truth will 
not long be hidden from him." 

Still they persevered, and determined that 
such articles should be published as would effect- 
ually reestablish the Roman Cathohc dominion, 
with its forms and ceremonies, to which, they 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. US 

were aware, the King was in his heart attached, 
still scrupulously guarding the title bestowed up- 
on him by Leo the Tenth, "Defender of the 
Faith." 

Perhaps this was the first time in the Arch- 
bishop's^ hfe that he determined to resist to the 
death. We have seen him wanting resolution in 
cases, which, to us, have appeared important ; 
but distant events come to us under a misty at- 
mosphere, and historians possess no power of dif- 
fusing unclouded sunshine. We rejoice, that here, 
at least, he requires no interpreter. When he 
found the ark, that he had so long watched over, 
in danger, regardless of the imperious will of the 
King, of the machinations of the Romanists, and 
of the persuasions of those who had hitherto been 
friendly to the Protestant cause, alone and un- 
shielded, except by what he styled the armour of 
truth, the prelate forced his way to the presence 
of the King, to the monarch whose nod was fate. 
Even Luther would have looked approvingly 
upon a self-abandonment so entire, to the cause 
of truth. 

It must be remembered that Cranmer had 
none of the constitutional courage or enthusiasm 
of the Saxon reformer. He was a man com- 
posed of milder elements. Luther was form- 
ed to stem or guide the whirlwind ; Cranmer 
stood aside to let it pass, and then strove with 
8 



114 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

patient industry to repair the ruins it had caused, 
and build up the fallen edifices. It was no hard- 
ship to Luther to go forth to the battle ; it was 
consistent with the ardour of his nature. Cran- 
mer shrunk from warfare, and all opposition in 
him to the will of the King arose from unmixed 
principle. 

The frowns of the monarch at Cranmer's in- 
trusion, were decisive in the minds of his adver- 
saries. With a cold, suppressed manner that was 
portentous, he merely desired the primate to 
draw up such articles as he was willing to sub- 
scribe to. Cranmer set himself at once about it. 
In the mean time, his enemies exulted, and many 
wagers were laid in London that he would be 
committed to the Tower, and share the fate of 
Cromwell. What, then, was their astonishment, 
when they found that the King had not only en- 
dured his opposition, but adopted his articles ! 

The reflection cannot but arise to the mind, 
that, perhaps, had he taken the same decided 
ground in the case of Anne Boleyn, her life 
might have been spared. This, however, is 
wholly doubtful ; and there were still greater pub- 
lic interests at stake than the life of an individual, 
the vital existence of religious truth. Cranmer 
acquired his power over Henry by the wisdom, 
prudence, and forbearance of his counsels. 

A new antagonist to the Archbishop had 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 115 

sprung up, in Bonner, Bishop of London. Crom- 
well was his patron and friend, and, while he hved, 
he had promoted the reformation ; but it now be- 
came evident, that he meant to pursue a different 
course. The free reading of the Scriptures he 
represented as giving rise to a multitude of opin- 
ions, hostile to true religion, and represented to 
the King that the very Bible which had been pre- 
pared in France, under his own patronage and 
protection, should be suppressed. It had been 
reprinted in England, enriched by a noble preface 
by Cranmer, and was issued in a large folio by 
the name of '' Cranmer's Bible." This repre- 
sentation so far prevailed, that the public perusal 
of the Scriptures was suppressed, and never again 
permitted during Henry the Eighth's reign. 

The Cathedral of Canterbury was solemnly 
restored, under the auspices of Cranmer, from the 
monastic state of a priory, into a deanery. This 
was about 1 540. After the removal of the monks, 
the next object of Cranmer was to attach a gram- 
mar school to the Cathedral. It is amusmg to 
observe the aristocratic notions that at that time 
prevailed. It was insisted that the children of 
mechanics and ploughmen should be excluded, and 
only gentlemen's sons admitted. The Arch- 
bishop strenuously opposed this idea. He made 
use of the same arguments that occur at the pres- 
ent day. He said, that, though there must be la- 



116 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

boring men, they ought to have the advantages of 
education, and not be deprived of the chance of 
emerging from a state of indigence and drudgery ; 
that we had no right to defraud the pubhc of the 
powers which God had distributed among the 
lower, as well as the more exalted classes of so- 
ciety. " If the gentleman's son," said the en- 
lightened prelate, " be apt for learning, let him 
be admitted ; if not apt, let the poor man's child 
that is apt be admitted in his room." * 

We now are called to contemplate the Arch- 
bishop in a new situation, which, were it not so 
intimately connected with his biography, we should 
gladly pass over. 

Henry appears to have been perfectly attached 
to his new Queen, Catharine Howard. He de- 
termined to make known his piety and domestic 
happiness together, and, on All-Saints day, re- 
ceived the sacrament in the royal chapel at 
Hampton Court. This seems to have been done 
to afford him an opportunity of proclaiming his 
conjugal felicity, and returning thanks to Almighty 
God for bestowing on him the blessing of so ad- 
mirable and virtuous a Queen. 

Catharine knelt by his side, probably in per- 
fect security. Had any inquietude disturbed her 
mind, from the recollection of past events, it was 

* Strype's " Memorials of Cranmer." 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 117 

now removed, and her station on the throne firm- 
ly fixed. 

Lady Rochfort, the enemy of Anne Boleyn 
and her own husband, and now the intimate friend 
and companion of the Queen, partook in her 
elevation. If her accusations of the unfortunate 
Anne were false, where was now the retribution 
of Heaven ? She had stood firm for years, and 
at last risen with the present Queen to royal 
favor. 

The august ceremony over, the King and his 
consort, with Lady Rochfort, retired, followed 
by the envy of the multitude. The next morn- 
ing it was Cranmer's appalhng task to inform his 
Majesty, that the Queen was wholly unworthy of 
her high station ! 

Again we pause over the office of the Arch- 
bishop. Must the horrid tale be told, and the 
throne again be deluged with blood ^ In modern 
times, though all the world might have whispered 
it, we think no one would have risked his own 
life by directly divulging it to the party concern- 
ed. The guilt of Catharine was imparted to 
Cranmer in a manner that left no uncertainty. 
She might be, and was, quite good enough for 
the monarch ; but the British throne was a sta- 
tion that called for high and unblemished virtue. 
Cranmer had no choice ; what others dared not 
do, he dared^ and wrote to the King, reveahng 



118 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

the horrible tale. There was a fair investigation, 
and Catharine, and Lady Rochfort, her abettor 
and probably her corrupter, were led to the block 
in 1542. 

Because we do not see the lightning or hear 
the thunder of heaven to-day, shall we believe 
that it is powerless ? To-morrow is ever near. 
What must have been this guilty woman's sensa- 
tions, when doomed to suffer the death of her 
victim, Anne Boleyn ? 



CRAJNTMER AND HIS TIMES. HQ 



CHAPTER IX. 

It is not remarkable that the struggle should 
have continued unabated between the ancient and 
the reformed principles, for Henry's sentiments 
were precisely calculated to keep it alive. It 
must be confessed, too, that there was a strange 
mixture of notions in Cranmer's theology. It was, 
as yet, but the twilight of reform ; but it was 
morning twilight, and gradually approaching day, 
while the Scriptures were open to the communi- 
ty ; but, after the royal injunction was issued, that 
" the Scriptures should not generally be read by 
laymen, and the King's Book be substituted for 
it, which contained every thing necessary for a 
Christian man to know, and that the King and 
pohcy of the realm restrained the reading of the 
sacred volume," we must consider the clouds as 
again obscuring the horizon. 

Some months had passed since the Archbishop 
had held a visitation at his diocese of Canterbury. 
When he went, he was greatly distressed to find 
what progress had been made in restoring the 
ancient superstitions, such as ringing bells to still 
the thunder and drive away devils, and various 



120 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Other follies. The Carnival was celebrated, in all 
its extravagance, with maskers, &c. He immedi- 
ately assembled the prebendaries and preachers in 
his consistory, and exhorted and reasoned with 
them, and reproved them. He endeavoured to 
convince them, that image and idol bore the same 
signification, — one being Greek, the other Latin. 
It does not appear that his representations had 
the desired effect. He then proceeded to appoint 
six preachers, three Catholic and three Protes- 
tant divines. This measure, instead of restoring 
peace, introduced so much discord, that Cranmer 
was obliged to declare that it was the King's 
pleasure that it should be so. 

Amidst the commotions that agitated the reli- 
gious world, secular affairs were not forgotten. It 
began to be rumored that Henry had determined 
to raise a sixth wife to the honor of the throne. 
This proved to be Catharine Parr, the widow of 
Lord Latimer. This connexion was favorable to 
the reform, as she was known fo lean towards 
those doctrines. She was a woman of fine ac- 
complishments and great knowledge of human 
nature, and often dexterously flattered Henry by a 
shght opposition to his opinions, and allowing her- 
self afterwards to be silenced, if not convinced. 
Probably she secretly exerted her influence with 
the King in mitigating the severity of the six arti- 
cles. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 121 

Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, began to fear, 
that, by the aid of the Queen and Cranmer, his 
own efforts might be frustrated ; he determined, 
therefore, to strike a decisive blow at the primate'. 
For this purpose, he, with the aid of several oth- 
ers, contrived a plot to ruin the Archbishop in the 
King's favor. A regular scheme was organized, 
and many private meetings were held. They drew 
up a long set of charges against him, which they 
knew would be most offensive to the King, such 
as accusing Cranmer of oppressing all preachers 
who refused to promote the new doctrine, and of 
holding a constant correspondence with the here- 
tics of Germany. When the articles of accusa- 
tion were completed, they were deHvered to the 
Council, and afterwards deposited in the hands of 
the King. 

It does not appear that Henry was a weak 
monarch, except where his passions bore sway. 
His Majesty read the papers carefully and thought- 
fully, and then, addressing the Chancellor, said ; 
" I command you to see the witnesses ; let them 
speak boldly and fearlessly of things that come 
within their knowledge, fearing none but God and 
the King." 

It occurred to the mind of Henry, that Gardi- 
ner had been detected in plotting against some 
others of the Court a few days before, and he 
conceived a strong suspicion that the Bishop was 



122 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

the instigator of these accusations. There can 
be no more decided evidence, that the monarch 
began already to heartily dislike Gardiner, than 
these suspicions ; indeed, he had never treated 
him with much deference, though often influenced 
by his opinions. After debating with himself the 
best manner of proceeding, he ordered his barge, 
and determined to proceed to Lambeth, and take 
the articles of accusation with him. He con- 
cealed the book in the loose hanging sleeves of his 
dress. Gardiner and his confederates, who were 
constantly on the watch, were now^ exulting at 
what they beheved the success of their con- 
spiracy. 

When the King's barge neared the steps by 
the water-side at Lambeth, the Primate immedi- 
ately made his appearance. The King called to 
him to come into the barge, and said, " O my 
chaplain, now I know who is the greatest heretic 
in Kent. Look at these papers, and see the 
names of the Kentish ministers against their di- 
ocesan." 

Cranmer took the book, opened it, and read 
the names of members of his own church, of 
magistrates whom he had treated with kindness, 
and believed his fast friends. He looked at the 
King with agitation and surprise, but grief and 
sorrow were the prevailing emotions. Kneeling 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 123 

before the King, he requested and urged an im- 
mediate trial. 

" I implore your Majesty," said he, " to let 
the whole affair be at once investigated by a com- 
mission." 

'"• That it shall be," said Henry, '' and I now 
name the Archbishop of Canterbury as commis- 
sioner, with such colleagues as he himself shall be 
pleased to appoint." 

'' Nay, Sire," replied Cranmer, " let not your 
Highness give cause for the imputation of par- 
tiality. I demand only a fair hearing and a fair 
investigation." 

The King persisted in his determination, and 
gave to the Primate the unpleasant task of unrav- 
elHng the plot against himself ; a painful and 
somewhat undignified office for the prelate, as his 
innocence might have been as effectually estab- 
lished without his agency. But Henry delighted 
in torturing, as well as condemning, his victims. 

One of the conspirators proved to be a man 
by the name of Thornden. He was formerly a 
monk of Canterbury, and was afterwards made 
Bishop of Dov^x.. The Archbishop had taken 
pains to do away all unpleasant recollections, had 
invited him to his own table, and treated him like 
a son ; and he it was, who was now conspiring 
against the honor and reputation of his benefactor. 
The whole affair was soon laid open, every indi- 



124 CRANMEE, AND HIS TIMES. 

vidual concerned in it detected, and the King 
left them to the mercy of the Archbishop, only 
saying, that burning was too mild a punishment. 

The Primate received from all the most humble 
petitions for mercy, (the Bishop of Winchester 
affected to have been too much engaged to attend 
seriously to the accusations) ; the prebendary Gar- 
diner, a relation of the Bishop's, with Thornden 
and Barber, on whom Cranmer had settled a pen- 
sion, actually crawled to the feet of the Primate, 
having previously besought his forgiveness in a 
letter, styling him "most honorable father." 

The Primate ordered them to rise, stated to 
them, in a mild and dignified manner, the injustice 
and perfidy of which they had been guilty towards 
him, and then proceeded to pass sentence. This 
was a full and complete pardon. 

Some of the courtiers, overcome with surprise, 
exclaimed, " Do my Lord of Canterbury a shrewd 
turn, and he is your friend for life." 

The Viceroy of Naples, in the month of De- 
cember, was about visiting England. Cranmer, 
on his embassy several years before, had received 
much kindness from him and his friends. The 
Archbishop was gratified at an opportunity of re- 
turning these civihties, and made all necessary 
preparations for the Viceroy and his suite to re- 
main with him at Canterbury. 

Cranmer, desirous, for the honor of the King, 



CRANNER AND HIS TIMES, 125 

that nothing should be wanting to his reception, 
departed in some measure from the usual plain- 
ness of his style to make welcome the Neapoh- 
tan. A few nights before his arrival, and after 
the palace had been made ready for the distin- 
guished guest, the cry of fire was heard, and the 
building was instantly in flames. The confusion 
and terror were great ; it was vain attempting to 
save any article of furniture. The books of the 
Archbishop and such papers as he had with him 
were burnt. But scarce had he breathed after 
his own escape, when a tale of horror was an- 
nounced to him ; his brother-in-law had fallen a 
victim to the flames. The distress and deep de- 
pression of the Archbishop, for some time unfit- 
ted him for any exertion. 

Hitherto the King had lived harmoniously with 
his Queen. His infirmities and ill health required 
devoted attention. Catharine performed every 
office for him with the utmost cheerfulness, and, 
though his irritabihty and ill temper made him an 
object of terror to all about him, she remained 
continually at her post. As the King preserved 
his fondness for theological discussions, he some- 
times proposed questions to her of high import. 
At one time, the earnestness of her feelings led 
her to oppose his opinions with zeal and argument. 
Henry's brow grew clouded, and he dismissed 
her from his presence, and sent for Gardiner. 



126 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

The Bishop found him In a state of great excite- 
ment. 

'' Dost thou know," said the angry monarch, 
" that we have been bearded to our face ? " 

" What means your Majesty ? " exclaimed 
Gardiner. 

" It is even so, and by a woman ; one that we 
have raised to share our throne and honors. She 
has this day proved herself a rank heretic, and 
deserving of fire and fagot." 

'' Can it be, Sire, your most noble Queen, the 
partner of your glory, that has thus forgotten her- 
self .^" exclaimed the prelate. " Alas ! I feared 
that she had sometimes overlooked her duty to 
you, in the zeal with which she has espoused the 
opinions of the Archbishop. In truth, my Lord 
of Canterbury is ivell minded to make converts of 
the Queens of England ; but I little thought she 
would have presumed to express her heretical 
opinions to the Head of the Church and Defend- 
er of the Faith." 

" What said you of my Lord of Canterbury } " 
said Henry, his face convulsed with passion. 

Gardiner trembled ; for well he knew Henry 
bore no allusion, however remote, 1o Anne Bo- 
leyn, and thunderbolts were launched indiscrim- 
inately around him. 

" I remarked to your Majesty," said Gardiner, 
" that, if Cranmer had made a convert of the 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 127 

Queen of England, the more elevated the person, 
the greater was the crime." 

" Thou art right," said the monarch. 

" By chastising one whom your Majesty has 
hitherto loaded with favors, the greater will be 
the terror, and the more glorious the sacrifice." 

" It is even so," said Henry; '* order Wris- 
thesly to draw up articles of impeachment." 

" Nothing but death can atone for such temer- 
ity," exclaimed Gardiner ; " against whom is the 
bill to be made out ?" 

'' Catharine, Queen of England," replied the 
King. ^ 

The Bishop of Winchester started with sur- 
prise, for he aimed at Cranmer. Again the 
Archbishop had escaped his snares. But he 
hoped that Cranmer might be the next victim. 

Catharine knew her royal consort too well not 
to feel that she had grievously offended him. 
Wristhesly drew up the paper ; but, fearing the ca- 
pricious temper of Henry, brought the instrument 
to him to be signed, as it was high treason to 
throw slander upon the Queen. As he left the 
royal presence, he accidentally dropped the pa- 
per, which was picked up by one of the Queen's 
friends. Wristhesly returned for it, but not be- 
fore the contents had been discovered. They 
were immediately communicated to the Queen. 

Catharine saw at once her danger, and that it 



128 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

was only by stratagem she could avoid the evil. 
She had no generous foe to deal with, but a cruel, 
selfish tyrant. When the hour for her attendance 
came, she went as usual to the King's apart- 
ment, and began performing the offices of a 
nurse. Probably Henry's wrath had somewhat 
abated ; for, while she was busy on her knees be- 
fore him, engaged in menial services, he renewed 
the conversation, and challenged her to an argu- 
ment. 

" Nay, my Lord," said she with humility, '' it 
would ill become me to argue with your Majesty. 
I know too well my place. Women, by their 
creation, were made subject to men. Adam was 
first created in his kingly glory, the image of his 
maker ; then Eve was created the image of her 
husband. In all cases, it is the duty of the wife 
to adopt implicitly the sentiments of her husband. 
But how much is it mine, who am blessed with a 
husband who is the Head of the Church ? who is 
not only qualified to choose principles for his own 
family, but for every nation, and who is justly 
styled the Head of the Church and Defender of 
the Faith.?" 

As Catharine proceeded, the countenance of 
Henry grew more serene, and, by the time she 
ended, few husbands could have worn a more sat- 
isfied expression. Still, however, he exclaimed, 
" Not so ! by Saint Mary, you are become a 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 129 

doctor, Kate ; and better fitted to give than to 
receive instruction." 

" Good my Lord,' replied Catharine, " do 
not scoff at your poor wife by giving her praise 
she so poorly deserves. I consider it my duty 
not to decline any conversation your Majesty may 
graciously please to suggest. Indeed, I some- 
limes try, by my feeble opposition, to provoke 
you to further remarks, when I perceive you are 
disposed to drop the topic ; knowing, full well, 
that not a sentence can fall from your lips, from 
which I shall not reap profit and instruction." 

"Is it so, sweetheart ? " said he ; " nay, then, 
let us embrace and be friends. Depend upon it, 
Kate, no one shall injure thee while thou hast 
such a docile and teachable mind, and such true 
love and reverence for thy husband." 

The next day the Chancellor came to escort 
her to the Tower, pursuant to the King's warrant. 
Henry was walking in the garden, leaning on the 
arm of his consort, for he walked with difiiculty. 
He moved to a little distance and spoke low to 
the Chancellor, but at length seemed to fall into 
one of his furious fits of passion, calling him 
knave, fool, and beast, in a loud voice, and order- 
ing him to quit his presence. The astonished 
Chancellor, with his forty pursuivants, stood 
aghast. Catharine, who perfectly understood the 
scene, now gently approached. 
9 



130 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

** Let me intercede with your Majesty for this 
poor man," said she, " who has had the misfor- 
tune to displease you ! " 

"Nay, poor soul," replied the King, "you 
know not how ill entitled is ' this poor man ' to 
your good offices." 

From this time, Catharine took care to act the 
part of a prudent and exemplary wife, and never 
to contradict her husband. 

Hitherto all plots against Cranmer had re- 
bounded against the contrivers. But the mitiga- 
tion of the severity of the six articles, (which 
may be found in Strype's and Burnet's Histories,) 
was too obviously the work of the Archbishop 
for his enemies to forgive. To counteract the 
operations of the King, had been at all times a 
perilous undertaking. But he had become by 
bodily infirmity, more passionate and arbitrary than 
ever. The voice of truth seldom reached his ear. 
^ The six bloody articles, as they were sometimes 
called, and sometimes the six-lashed scourge, 
were peculiarly the work of his own hands, and 
had the singular merit of including Protestants 
and Catholics in the same punishment. The 
Protestants who denied the real presence of 
Christ in the bread and wine, and refused to be- 
lieve that it was his body they hterally ate, and 
his blood they drank, and the Catholics who de- 
voutly and conscientiously believed this, but still 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 131 

maintained the supremacy of the Pope, were both 
placed on the same hurdle and carried to the 
stake. 

Cranmer had been promised the aid of four 
bishops in the opposition ; but when it came to 
the crisis, they all deserted him, and the Arch- 
bishop stood alone to brave the storm. He did 
not shrink from it ; firmly and undauntedly he 
stood the conflict with the Popish party, who felt 
that they had the support of the King ; yet, not- 
withstanding, such was the strength of his influ- 
ence, that an act of Parliament followed, mitigat- 
ing the rigor of the articles. It may be well to 
mention what this mitigation was, as the articles 
themselves remained the same. No man was to 
be put on trial for any offence against either of 
the articles, but upon the oath of twelve men ; 
the presentment should be made within one year 
after the offence committed ; no person should 
be arrested for any such offence before he should 
be indicted ; and, lastly, any accusation for speak- 
ing or reading in opposition to the articles should 
be preferred within forty days of the alleged de- 
linquency. It vvill easily be understood, that per- 
secution lost some of its power by the necessary 
delay. 

A new accusation was soon brought against the 
Archbishop by Sir John Gostwick, a Catholic. 
He complained, that Cranmer had spoken hereti- 



132 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

cally on the sacrament. It so happened that he 
was a stranger, and had never heard a sermon 
from the Archbishop. If the King had had any 
desire to convict him, this would not have weighed 
against the accuser ; but Cranmer still stood high 
in his favor, and his indignation knew no bounds. 

'' Tell that varlet Gostwick," said he, " that 
he has played a villanous part, to abuse, in open 
Parliament, the Primate of the realm. If he 
does not immediately ask pardon of my Lord of 
Canterbury, I will make him the poorest Gost- 
wick that ever bore the name. What ! does he 
pretend, that he, being in Bedfordshire, could 
hear my Lord of Canterbury preaching in Kent ? " 

Gostwick went with great haste to the Arch- 
bishop at Lambeth, and implored his pardon for 
so easily taking up with idle reports and express- 
ed his apprehension that the King meant to make 
an example of him. 

'' I forgive you freely," said the Archbishop, 
"your offence towards myself, and will intercede 
with the King for a full pardon. But let me beg 
you to take up no more reports lightly. Slander 
is as foul an offence towards the poorest man of 
the realm, as to the Primate." 

The Archbishop was faithful to his promise, 
and interceded for Gostwick. It was some time 
before Henry was appeased. " What would they 
do with you, if I were gone .''" said he ; "the 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 133 

bloodhounds are licking their teeth on the scent. 
Your seal, my Lord, shall henceforth be three 
pelicans, instead of three cranes ; for in truth you 
must be ready as the pelican is to shed your 
blood, if you stand thus firmly to your tackling in 
defence of your religion. When I am gone, they 
are likely to have a taste of your blood." From 
this time, the arms of Cranmer were three peli- 
cans. 

^ An English litany was about this time intro- 
duced. The invocation to the Virgin Mary was 
still preserved, the intercession of saints and an- 
gels implored, and a petition added for deliver- 
ance from the " Pope of Rome and his detestable 
enormities." No one doubted but the Primate 
was principally engaged in the work. Devotional 
exercises were added, compiled from Scripture, 
generally. This was an important advantage, 
but still the progress of reform was slow. Henry 
had imbibed but little of the true spirit of religion. 
On either side he considered it an engine of 
power, and determined to use it for his own su- 
premacy. At the same time his opinions were 
continually fluctuating on what was considered 
essential at the time ; the only doctrine which he 
uniformly preserved was, the real presence, or 
the doctrine of transubstantiation. 

It might be truly said, that, except the Primate, 
there was not a man calculated to lead the Refor- 
mation. At the time of Anne Boleyn's death, 



134 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Latimer, whom we have before mentioned, Bishop 
of Worcester, a man who possessed every Chris- 
tian virtue, Shaxton, Bishop of Salsbury, and 
Barlow, Bishop of St. David's, were all favorable 
to the Reformation. 

Latimer had the innocence of the dove, but 
none of the wily wisdom of the serpent. He 
had little knowledge of human nature in any. sense. 
What people told him of their own characters 
he believed, because he considered truth as too 
important for any individual to depart from. This 
rendered him an easy mark for imposition with 
the bad, and an object of love and veneration for 
the good, but wholly incapable of comprehending 
the crooked paths of duplicity. 

Bishop Shaxton, though well meaning, was 
suspicious and unamiable in his temper, his coun- 
tenance stern, and his manner unbending. Those 
who went to ask counsel, often felt an invincible 
repugnance at receiving it, from the mode in 
which it was given. Instead of making converts 
to his opinions, he much oftener repulsed his 
hearers. 

Bishop Barlow was a man of excellent sense 
and learning, perfectly natural in his manner, and 
admirable at a joke. The great essential of char- 
acter he was deficient in, — judgment. His ob- 
servations were often ill-timed, and his levity of- 
fensive. Cranmer feared to communicate to him 
many important plans; "for though," he said, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 135 

" they are highly important for the diffusion of 
truth, you, brother Barlow, in half an hour, will 
make the world beheve they are a jest." 

Such were the men, at the time of Anne's 
death, to whom alone the Primate could look for 
assistance. He stood in the most conspicuous 
place in the realm, surrounded by enemies. Nor 
was this all. Even those who had gone along 
with him in the doctrine of reform were continu- 
ally weakening their cause by new tenets and di- 
versity of opinion ; every one had his own creed. 
Some only wished to renounce the ceremonies of 
the Catholic Church and preserve its doctrines ; 
others, to preserve the ceremonies and reject the 
doctrines. 

Amidst the confusion which must ever arise 
from a revolution of any kind, the Archbishop re- 
rnained calm and determined. He redressed 
abuses as far as he had influence in other courts 
as well as his own, gave up many of his fees, and 
obliged his officers to retrench theirs, abolished 
the excessive number of holydays, and actually 
sat down to a hot supper on the eve of Saint 
Thomas of Canterbury. 

So far from being surprised that reform made 
not more rapid strides under these circumstances, 
we may wonder that it did not stand still. For 
its progress seemed to rest wholly on the 
strength of one man. 



136 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 



CHAPTER X. 

It does not appear that the enemies of Cran- 
mer were disheartened by the failure of the last 
plot. A complaint was laid before the King by- 
certain members of his Council, "that the Arch- 
bishop and his learned men had so infected the 
whole realm with their unsavoury doctrine, that 
three parts out of four in the land were abomina- 
ble heretics. 

It was well known how tenacious Henry was 
of being considered favorable to the religion of 
his forefathers, and how earnestly he professed 
that he was no friend to the new opinions. Yet 
he granted advantages to the Protestants when his 
pride or interest was concerned. 

The suit of the petitioners took hold of these 
prevailing traits of his character. They first insin- 
uated that the Primate had inculcated the idea that 
the King was in his heart a heretic. Out of pure 
regard to the safety of his Majesty, and the peace 
of the realm, they petitioned that the Primate 
might be committed to the Tower. " This pre- 
liminary measure is absolutely necessary," said 
they, "for, as long as he is left at liberty, no mortal 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 137 

will dare to utter a syllable against him. Let him 
once be in confinement, and men will dare to 
come forward, his secret machinations will be re- 
vealed, and his Majesty's counsellors enabled to 
search out the truth." 

In reply to this statement his Majesty said ; 
" I am favored in having such trusty advisers to 
watch over the peace of the realm. I commis- 
sion you to summon the Archbishop to-morrow, 
and then, if we see fit, we will order him into 
custody." 

It was eleven at night before the King deter- 
mined in what manner to act. He then de- 
spatched Sir Anthony Denny to Lambeth with an 
order that Cranmer should instantly attend him at 
Westminster. 

He arrived late at night at Lambeth, and found 
the inhabitants of the palace buried in sleep. 
The habits of the Archbishop were uniform, and 
the hour of retirement early, both for himself and 
his household. Such an unusual summons must 
have filled him with surprise. He arose from his 
bed and repaired to the King, whom he found 
traversing the gallery in great apparent agitation. 

" You have come," said his Majesty, "to hear 
serious charges against yourself, alleged by the 
Council. They demand that you shall be com- 
mitted to the Tower, and I have acceded to their 
request." 



138 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

"As it pleaseth your Majesty," said Cranmer ; 
" I am in all respects willing to be committed to 
the Tower, only humbly intreating that I may be 
permitted to face my accusers, and defend myself 
against them." 

" O Lord God ! " said Henry, bursting forth 
with an impetuosity he was unable to restrain, 
" what simphcity is yours, to submit to an im- 
prisonment that must end in your ruin ! Do you 
not know, that, no sooner than you shall be in the 
Tower, false knaves will instantly come forward to 
arraign you, who, if you were at liberty, would 
not dare to show their faces ? No, no ; not so, 
my Lord of Canterbury. Go you to the Coun- 
cil to-morrow, and, when you appear before them, 
demand to be confronted with your accusers. 
Should there be a moment's hesitation, produce 
this ring ; the sight of it will instantly bring the 
matter before me." 

With a mind harassed by anxiety, and the 
consciousness of enemies ready to spring upon 
him, the Archbishop, after a sleepless night, at 
eight o'clock was in attendance upon the Council. 

The men who had solicited his imprisonment, 
were sitting in divan discussing the articles of his 
impeachment. When told he was in waiting, 
there was a luxury in humiliating the Primate that 
added to the expected triumph. " Let him wait 
our leisure," was the universal sentiment. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 139 

The Archbishop found himself in the ante- 
room, surrounded by lackeys and serving-men, 
waiting the orders of their masters. It was a 
spectacle worth looking at for its novelty, and 
many a one stopped to gaze upon the Primate as 
he passed. There was one, however, that did 
not look upon him with sentiments of triumph or 
of pity, but with indignation. This was Doctor 
Butts, the King's physician, who was on his 
morning errand to his Majesty. When he en- 
tered the royal apartment he said, "I have seen 
so strange a sight this morning, that I think it 
worth mentioning to your Majesty." 

*' What is it ? " inquired the King. 

'' The first man in England is become a serving- 
man, and has been standing for an hour among 
his fellow-lackeys at the door of the Council- 
chamber." 

" Ha ! is it so .^ " exclaimed Henry ; " the var- 
lets ! they shall hear of it before long." 

Still, however, Henry remained quiet, to the 
surprise of Dr. Butts. 

In the mean time, Cranmer waited till he was 
summoned to the Council-chamber. The com- 
plaint was made in rude terms. He hstened with 
meekness, and required that his accusers might be 
called into his presence and confronted with him. 
The just request was made in vain. "No, my 
Lord," was the reply ; " we have liberty to com- 



140 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

mit you immediately to the Tower ; then, justify 
yourself if you can." 

Cranmer, finding his request unheeded, drew 
from his bosom a ring and handed it to them. 

It was the King's ! The august assembly were 
thrown into the greatest agitation, while Lord 
Russell exclaimed ; " Said I not true, my Lords, 
that the King would never endure that my Lord 
of Canterbury should be impeached and disgraced 
for less than high treason ? " 

The matter was now immediately before the 
King. " I thought," said Henry, " that I had a 
discreet Council. But what am I to say now ? 
Is my Lord of Canterbury a slave, that you 
should keep him at the door of your chamber 
like a serving-man ? What would you say, if an 
indignity like this were offered to any of you .'' 
I fully believe that the realm of England contains 
not a more faithful subject than I have ever found 
in my Lord of Canterbury, and he that pretends 
attachment to me, must show respect and honor 
to him." 

It was in vain they apologized and explained. 
The wrath of Henry was not easily appeased. 
They assured the King, that they only wished the 
Archbishop committed to the Tower that he 
might come forth from his confinement with aug- 
mented reputation and glory. 

"Is it even so?" said Henry sarcastically. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 141 

" Think ye that I do not see the malice of your 
niotives, that which sets you one against another ? 
that I do not discern how the world goeth aniong 
ye ? I counsel you, let this be avoided out of 
hand, and never again let my friends receive such 
usage as this at your hands." 

With these words he left them. The scene 
that followed was too disgusting to describe, — 
an exhibition of the low propensities of human 
nature. The men who had hoped to bring Cran- 
mer to the scaffold, now crowded round him, 
congratulated him " on having such convincing 
testimonies of his innocence, and besought him 
to harbour no enmity towards them." The placa- 
ble Archbishop accepted their apologies, and the 
King, who was well satisfied with his own exhi- 
bition of power, and the success of the little 
farce he had planned, desired the Primate to in- 
vite them to dine at Lambeth palace. 

Thus ended a deep-laid plot, of which we have 
only given the results, but which may be studied 
out in historical works. 

A new cause of complaint against Cranmer 
was now brought before the King. He was con- 
tinually accused of being mean and avaricious. 
Sir John Seymour represented the arrangement 
of the Archbishop's household, as wholly incon- 
sistent with his high station. " The revenues of 
the Primacy," said he, " are no longer devoted 



142 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

to purposes of benevolence or hospitality. The 
love of money has become the ruling passion of 
the prelate. To hoard is his great work, and his 
table is unworthily furnished for the first man in 
the realm." 

Soon after, the King despatched Seymour 
with a message to the Archbishop about the hour 
of dinner. As soon as he entered, Cranmer 
arose, and, in a courteous manuer, requested him 
to take a seat at the table. Even Sir John was 
obliged to acknowledge, on his return to the mon- 
arch, that he beheved the slander was wholly 
without foundation. That a noble provision was 
every day made for accidental guests, and for the 
poor dependents of the church. 

It may not be amiss here, to mention the habits 
and arrangements of the Archbishop. Every 
day three tables were spread in the dining hall. 
First, the Archbishop's table. At this were seat- 
ed all the distinguished guests, not only people of 
wealth, and high rank, but men eminent for their 
virtue and learning, whom Cranmer believed to 
be the true nobility of England. Then came the 
almoner's table. This was furnished in a style 
little inferior to the first. At this, sat the chap- 
lains, and those of his household who ranked be- 
low Bishops and Abbots. After these came the 
steward's table, at which sat promiscuous guests 
and dependents. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 143 

That this style was truly irksome to Cranmer, 
there is no doubt ; but hospitality he considered 
a duty, and a noble and expensively furnished 
table was one of the virtues of the day. 

For his own habits, there is the best authority. 
His first principle was, economy of time ; nor 
could he have accomplished all he did, without it. 
He rose at five o'clock in the morning, and 
went immediately to his study. This, till nine, 
he considered as exclusively his own time, and 
would not suffer himself to be interrupted unless 
for unavoidable claims. At nine, he breakfasted 
sparingly, and then admitted those who wished to 
see him on private or public business. Eleven 
was the chapel hour of prayers, and his dinner 
hour twelve. After dinner he spent an hour in 
recreation ; conversation and chess were his usual 
modes of passing this time. He then retired 
again to his study till the chapel bell rang, which 
was punctually at five. After evening prayers 
was his time for exercise ; he then walked till six, 
the hour of supper. When he came to the table 
from his walk, he often did not pull off his gloves, 
but took some slight refreshment and again re- 
sumed his exercise of walking. At eight, he re- 
tired to his study, and at nine went to bed. As 
he wrote a great deal, he accustomed himself to 
write standing, and often read in this posture. 
This he considered particularly conducive to 



144 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

health, and sitting peculiarly injurious. His 
library was filled with a choice collection of 
books, and was open to all men of letters. In 
this respect he showed the utmost liberality. 

When we contrast Cranmer's mode of hfe 
with Wolsey's, we have an illustration of the 
character of the two men, that is important. It 
may be conjectured that Wolsey's habits of ex- 
pense and dissipation were often recurred to by 
the King, and called forth his honorable testimo- 
ny for Cranmer. When Cranmer proposed reg- 
ulating the tables of the clergy, the King at once 
assented. The regulations pubHshed on the oc- 
casion ordered, that an Archbishop's table should 
not exceed six divers kinds of flesh, or as many 
of fish on fish days. A Bishop's should not ex- 
ceed five ; a Dean's four ; and none under that 
degree should exceed three. For a second 
course an Archbishop w^as allowed four dishes, a 
bishop three, and all others two. The second 
course usually consisted of custards, tarts, fritters, 
cheese, and fruit. If any inferior entertained a 
superior, he might enlarge his entertainment ac- 
cording to his discretion. If an Archbishop or 
ecclesiastic entertained an ambassador, the diet 
need not be limited. It was, however, under- 
stood, that there should not be more than one, of 
any large fowl, such as cranes, turkeys, and swans, 
in a dish ; but of woodcocks, pheasants, or small- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 145 

er birds, there might be two or three. The same 
regulations extended to fish ; of haddock, pike, or 
tench, only one in a dish ; but of the very small 
ones, the number might be increased. 

About this time he instituted a hospital at his 
manor-house of Beckesburn in Kent. This was 
one of the most noble charities of the period, 
and proves that the Archbishop was greatly iri 
advance of the times. He had vainly urged, that 
some of the monasteries should be turned into 
hospitals for wounded and disbanded soldiers, who 
often had no asylum. But, when he found he 
could effect nothing by representations, he not 
only gave up the manor-house, but appointed a 
physician, a surgeon, nurses, and every thing 
proper, as well for food as for medicine. There, 
the soldier who had fought the hard battles of his 
country, and who often returned wanting a leg or 
an arm, and sick and desolate, was carefully at- 
tended, and, on his recovery, was furnished with 
money to carry him home, in proportion to the 
distance. 

It would hardly be justice to the spirit of the 
times to pass over the history of Anne Askew, 
the daughter of Sir William Askew, of Kelsay, 
in Lincolnshire. This young lady early discov- 
ered a taste for books, and acquired the habit of 
thinking and investigating for herself. In the 
beautiful secluded spot of her native place she 
10 



146 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

passed the early years of her hfe, and drank phi- 
losophy at those fountains which refresh and in- 
invigorate the mind. A Bible accidentally fell 
into her hands, which she carefully concealed. 
It was her greatest treasure. Some of Luther's 
works had found their way to her curious and in- 
quiring mind, and she embraced with ardor the 
doctrine of reform. 

Such a woman was indeed rare in those days, 
and, had it not been for her uncommon beauty, 
she would probably have been allowed the quiet 
possession of her pursuits and opinions. But 
Mr. Kyne, a visiter to her father, was captivated 
by her charms, and contrived to make warm 
friends of her parents. 

Almost by compulsion she consented to marry 
him. Her reward was tyranny and oppression. 
He was a bigoted Cathohc, and repeatedly drove 
her from his house ; and, not understanding the 
elevation of her character, persecuted her with 
petty cruelties, till, unable any longer to endure 
them, she fled to the Court of Henry the Eighth, 
told the story of her wrongs, and solicited a di- 
vorce. Many of the ladies of the Court were 
deeply interested for her. Queen Catharine (Parr) 
among the rest. The similarity of their opinions 
produced an intimate intercourse. This excited 
a degree of envy. Anne was little acquainted 
with the intrigues of a court, and easily induced 
by artful people to relate observations of the 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 147 

Queen's favoring the Reformation. She was im- 
mediately arrested and conveyed to the Tower, 
and at the same time Shaxton, who had been 
Bishop of Salisbury, with whom she was much 
acquainted. When questioned as to her faith, 
she boldly declared it, and that she renounced the 
old sacramental doctrine. 

In the mean time, Shaxton, unable to withstand 
the prospect of being burned, recanted his hereti- 
cal x)pinions. He was then admitted to an inter- 
view with Anne, for the purpose of persuading 
her to do as he had done. She calmly replied ; 
" Death can come but once, and, when the breath 
ceases, it is over ; but he, who lives in infamy, 
dies a slow death, before the fire of his own con- 
science ! O my Lord, it were good for you, if 
you had never been born ! " 

When questioned with regard to the Queen, 
her fidelity was not to be tempted. She resolute- 
ly refused to acknowledge any word that could 
cast a shadow of reproach upon her, and probably 
it saved the life of Catharine, as the slightest de- 
viation from Henry's opinions would have been 
fatal to her. 

How shall we go on with the mournful story. 
She was hunted like a wild beast, and her deli- 
cate and beautifully proportioned form stretched 
on the rack while she was yet in prison, the Lord 

High-Chancellor of England not only witnessing 

V 



148 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

the deed, but even assisting with his own hand in 
stretching the engine ! 

No severities, no torments changed her lofty 
and high-toned character. When carried to the 
stake, she was unable to stand, from the disloca- 
tion of her limbs. As a refinement of cruelty, 
Shaxton was placed in a pulpit to address her. 
She met the flames which curled round her with- 
out a shriek or a groan, at the age of twenty-six ! *hu 

We can with difficulty give credence to this 
history. It seems to be cruelty without an ade- 
quate motive. We must endeavour to place our- 
selves in that barbarous period, when human life 
seemed to be considered of little importance, 
when the stake and the scaffold were spectacles 
familiar to the eye. Yet even then w^e must turn 
with horror from men who could execute such a 
deed, and search for a motive powerful enough to 
make It credible. 

During former cruelties of Henry's reign, many 
were condemned to the stake for heresy, but none 
without more plausible motives than those alleged 
against Anne Askew. We are tempted to be- 
lieve there must have been some underplot, some 
secret revenge connected with her early marriage, 
which sealed her doom. 

From the time of her arrest to that of her ex- 
ecution she was urged to make a recantation of 
her opinions ; but she Hstened with a serious 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 149 

smile to such proposals, and, while long homilies 
were read to her, composed prayers and hymns 
which she afterwards wrote down. 

It was a great source of grief to Cranmer, that 
the Bible was laid under such restrictions that 
they almost annihilated the use of it. Both Tyn- 
dal's and Coverdale's new translations of the Tes- 
tament were prohibited, and the English books of 
Wichf and Frith, the earliest reformers, sup- 
pressed. Still, however, the Archbishop con- 
tinued to effect all in his power, and his patience 
and perseverance were truly remarkable. 

But the close of Henry's life was evidently 
drawing near. He had grown so large and un- 
wieldy, that he could no longer go up or down 
stairs, but was let down and drawn up by an en- 
gine. Bodily disease made him intolerable in his 
temper, so that every one who approached him 
did it with fear. More than once Cranmer inter- 
fered to shield Mary from her father's anger. 
Henry seems to have very well understood her 
disposition, and feared she might cause trouble to 
his successor, the young Edward. 

At length his suspicions found a point on 
which to rest. The Earl of Surrey, son to the 
Duke of Norfolk, Lord Treasurer of England, 
was a young man of great wit and learning ; his 
manners were refined and graceful, his deport- 
ment noble and commanding. He had passed 



150 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

much of his time on the continent, and acquired 
a degree of gallantry in his deportment towards 
women, that was scarcely understood in England. 
A lover of the fine arts, accomplished in the lit- 
erature of the day, an adept in music, and per- 
forming himself with the grace of an amateur and 
the precision of an artist, he became the '' glass 
of fashion " to the young. At every masque 
and tournament he was the hero. His lance and 
his pen were equally successful. His romantic 
gallantry flowed in madrigals and sonnets, and he 
stood forth one of the troubadours of the earlier 
ages. When Boulogne was taken by Henry, the 
young Earl, then scarcely at the age of manhood, 
was left governor of the place. Led away by the 
impetuosity and bravery of his natural tempera- 
ment, he ventured upon some rencounters with 
the French, which proved unsuccessful, and the 
King sent over Hertford to command in his place, 
ordering Surrey to resign. 

The young man did not take this affront meek- 
ly, and, when Hertford offered him his daughter 
in marriage, he waved the proposal. He had al- 
ready selected the lady of his love, and this man- 
ner of negotiating an alliance, even if his heart 
had been disengaged, was wholly opposed to his 
chivalrous feelings. He returned to the English 
Court, and was even so imprudent as to utter his 
indignation aloud at what he conceived to be un- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 151 

just treatment. When there, he laid aside the 
ponoip of arms, and threw open his house to peo- 
ple of rank and distinguished foreigners. Among 
these were Italians, a nation hateful to the King, 
and constantly the object of his suspicions. He 
always believed them to be in concert with his 
ancient enemy. Cardinal Pole, and employed as 
spies. Another evil under which Surrey labored, 
arose from his relationship to Catharine Howard, 
which operated as a secret cause of disgust to the 
King. 

The Earl was wholly unapprized of these ex- 
isting prejudices against him, and bore himself 
with a nobility of demeanor that was reported to 
the King by his enemies. Henry was now con- 
fined to his room, irascible and overbearing ; all 
the evil passions of his nature forming his torment 
and punishment. The echoes, which occasionally 
met his ear, of the elegance, accomplishments, 
and deportment of Surrey, were operating like 
poison upon his mind, and he conceived, or pre- 
tended to entertain, the absurd suspicion that the 
Earl aspired to the hand of the Princess Mary, 
and meant to dispute the succession of Edward 
to the crown, and secure it to himself. 

While these things were brewing in the King's 
mind, and adding to the torture of severe bodily 
disease, the unconscious Surrey was preparing a 
splendid entertainment in honor of the princess 



152 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Mary. A.11 the decorations of taste and art were 
collected, and it was more than suspected, that the 
professed object of the fete had signified her wil- 
lingness that it should be given. Never had the 
rigid muscles of Mary's face more benignantly 
relaxed than on this occasion. Surrey was not 
wanting in any of the attentions of a preux che- 
valier; he danced, he sang, and knelt to the Prin- 
cess, but his eye perpetually wandered to one 
light and graceful form in the distant group. 
When their eyes met, it was observed by Pas- 
quil, his Italian jester, that ^'his hand moved to 
his heart." This was the true object of his affec- 
tion ; and well she deserved it. With a natural 
love for all that was beautiful and cultivated, she 
had singled out Surrey from her troop of ad- 
mirers, and caught the inspiration of his genius. 
Never were two hearts more in unison, and a long 
life of similar pursuits, of elegant literature, and of 
domestic and conjugal faith, rose in perspective. 

The next morning, by order of the King, the 
Earl was arraigned for high treason. His trial 
took place in Guild-hall, in London, before the 
Lord Chancellor, the Lord Mayor, and other 
commissioners. The chief accusation against 
him was assuming the arms of Edward the Con- 
fessor. He fully proved that these were justified 
by the sanction of the King's heralds. 

Sir Richard Southwell was confronted with 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 153 

him, and charged him with having uttered disloyal 
words. Surrey denied them, and desired to be 
admitted to fight him, according to martial law. 
This was not permitted. He defended himself 
with a keen wit and undaunted spirit, often con- 
founding his adversaries. At length a witness 
was brought against him, who deposed, that, in 
reply to an observation of Surrey's, he had said 
at the time, " My Lord, this is high treason." 

The Earl folded his arms, and looking at him 
with ineffable contempt, replied ; " I leave it to 
the jury to decide, whether the Earl of Surrey 
would suffer this man to speak such words to him, 
without felling him to the earth." 

He uniformly pleaded not guilty, and his eye 
never for a moment lost its undaunted courage. 
The jury (a common inquest, not of the peers) 
condemned him, judgment of death was given, 
and he was conveyed to the Tower. When he 
arrived there, he found that his father, the Duke 
of Norfolk, had been also committed on the charge 
of high treason. 

The evening preceding the execution of Sur- 
rey, a young page was admitted to his cell by the 
keeper, on condition that the interview should last 
but fifteen minutes, and himself be present. It 
mattered not to the parties who was there ; it was 
one long, one last embrace. The same spirit 
animated both ; a spirit of undying constancy and 



154 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

truth. The last words they uttered when they 
parted were, " For a moment of suffering on 
earth, an eternity of happiness in heaven." 

The next day, in the grey twihght of the 
morning, the elegant, the accomphshed, the en- 
vied Earl of Surrey, was beheaded on Tower- 
hill ! 

His father, the Duke of Norfolk, still remained 
in prison. His goods and lands had been seized. 
He possessed not the undaunted spirit of his son, 
but wrote an abject letter to the King, and made 
the humblest submissions. How would the in- 
dignant eye of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, 
have flashed, had he heard his father accuse him 
of high treason, for the sake of purchasing the 
worthless remnant of his own days, — he, who, 
in the pride and dignity of manhood, with all the 
fair promises of life and love clustering round 
him, had disdained to sue for clemency to the 
hard-hearted tyrant. 

Cranmer, though no friend of Norfolk, — for 
they were in opposite parties, and the Primate 
considered him as using all his influence against 
the Reformation, — seems to have been filled 
with just indignation at these proceedings, and 
boldly said he would have no hand in such a pro- 
secution. Without consulting any one, he retired 
to his seat at Croyden. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 155 

The King's illness rapidly increased, but no 
sentiments of compassion for the Duke of Nor- 
folk softened his heart. He sent to the Parlia- 
ment to hasten their work, on pretence that there 
must be a new Earl Marshal, to install his son 
Prince of Wales. The obsequious Parliament 
obeyed his directions, and sent to the King, for his 
royal assent, the bill condemning Norfolk. With 
a trembling and eager hand, the King affixed his 
signature. It was then the 28th of the month. 
A short time after this exertion, an evident change 
took place. Every one present beheved him to 
be dying, but no one dared to give him any inti- 
mation of his situation. 

At length, Sir Anthony Denny arrived, and 
plainly told him that his end was drawing near. 
Henry received the intelligence with calmness ; 
said he knew he had been a great sinner, but 
trusted in the mercies of Christ. He then re- 
quested Cranmer might be sent for. Before the 
Archbishop arrived, the King was speechless. 
Cranmer requested him to make some sign that 
he died in Christian faith. He squeezed his hand 
and expired, on the 28th day of January, the 
very day on which he had assented to Norfolk's 
death, and signed the instrument. The life of 
the Duke was thus saved, and Henry called to 
render his last account for the deeds he had done 
and purposed. 



156 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

The sun arose upon his lifeless corpse, the 
hand was still and motionless that had signed the 
death-warrant of Norfolk, for ihat day a mightier 
had signed his own ! 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 157 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Archbishop deeply felt the death of the 
King. To him alone in the world, Henry seems 
to have shown uniform and consistent kindness. 
The very vices of his character, to which Cran- 
mer's loyalty could not wholly blind him, made 
his death more solemn and affecting. In Edward, 
he beheld not only the successor of the King, 
but a child for whom he had watched and prayed. 
He had stood sponsor at his birth, and this, to 
the Archbishop, was no idle ceremony. He felt 
now that he was answerable for all he had prom- 
ised, and his tenderness towards the young King 
was expressed in the very tones in which he 
spoke of him or to him. He immediately peti- 
tioned, '' that, as he had exercised the authority 
of an Archbishop during the reign of the former 
King, so, that authority ending with his life, it 
would please the present King Edward to com- 
mit unto him that power again." That this was 
done to afford an example of the King's ecclesi- 
astical jurisdiction there can be no doubt, as he 
strongly maintained the royal supremacy in eccle- 
siastical as well as secular affairs. 



158 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

The day after Henry's death, his will was 
read. He bequeathed the crown to Prince Ed- 
ward and his issue ; but, in case of his death with- 
out any issue, to Mary and Elizabeth, and, in de- 
fault of their issue, to the heirs of his nieces, 
Frances and Eleanor, daughters of his sister 
Mary, late Queen of France. His own daugh- 
ters were to forfeit their right of succession, should 
they marry without the consent of the privy 
council ; and his sister, the Scottish Queen, with 
her issue was wholly cut off frona the succession. 

One of Cranmer's first exercises of episcopal 
power was the coronation of the young King. 
Nine years before, the Archbishop had received 
him in his arms, a new born babe. He had much 
reason then, from his own experience, to view 
him as born into a world of trouble and sorrow. 
Now he was about to place upon his head a king- 
ly crown, which to too many had proved a crown 
of thorns. 

The ceremony was to be performed in West- 
minster Abbey, where, "First, There was a 
goodly stage richly hanged round with cloth of 
gold and cloth of arras. Two and twenty steps 
led from the clioire ; and down to the high altar 
but fifteen steps, goodly carpetted, where the 
King's Grace should tread with his nobles. 

" Secondly, The high altar was richly garnish- 
ed with costly jewels and ornaments of much es- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 159 

timation and value. And also the tombs on either 
side the high altar, richly hanged with fine gold 
of arras. 

'' Thirdly, in the midst of the stage was a 
goodly thing made of seven steps of height all 
around, where the King's Majesty's chair royal 
stood ; and he sat therein after he was crowned, 
all the mass- while. 

" Fourthly, At nine of the clock all Westmin- 
ster choire was in their copes and three goodly 
crosses before them ; and after them other three 
goodly rich crosses, and the King's chappel with 
his children, following all in scarlet, with surplices 
and copes on their backs. And after them ten 
bishops in scarlet, with their rochets, and rich 
copes on their backs, and their mitres on their 
heads, did set forth at the west door of Westmin- 
ster towards the King's palace, there to receive 
his Grace ; and my Lord of Canterbury with his 
cross before him alone, and his mitre on his head. 
And so past forth in order, as before is said. And 
within a certain space after were certain blew 
cloths laid abroad in the church floor against the 
King's coming, and so all the palace, even to 
York place." 

Then is described the " setting forward from 
Westminster church to his coronation, unction, 
and confirmation." 

" After all the Lords in order had kneeled 



160 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

down and kissed his Grace's right foot, and after 
held their hands between his Grace's hands, and 
kissed his Grace's left cheek, and so did their 
homage ; then began a mass of the Holy Ghost 
by my Lord of Canterbury, with good singing in 
the choire, and organs playing. There at offer- 
ing-time his grace offered to the altar a pound of 
gold, a loaf of bread, and a chalice of wine. 
Then, after the levation of the mass, there was 
read by my Lord Chancellor, in presence of all 
the nobles, a general pardon granted by Henry 
the Eighth, father to our liege Lord the King, 
that all shall be pardoned that have offended be- 
fore the 28th day of January last past. 

'' When the King's Majesty, with his nobles, 
came to the place of coronation, within a while 
after, his Grace was removed into a chair of crim- 
son velvet, and borne in the chair between two 
noblemen, unto the north side of the stage and 
shewed to the people ; and these words spoken to 
the people by my Lord of Canterbury ; 

" ' Sirs ; here I present unto you King Ed- 
ward, the rightful inheritor to the crown of this 
realm. Wherefore all ye, that be come this day 
to do your homage service and bounden duty, be 
ye willing to do the same ? ' 

" To the which all the people cried with a loud 
voice and said, ' Yea, yea, yea ' ; and cried 'King 
Edward ! ' and prayed ' God save King Edward ! ' 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 161 

And SO to the south side in like manner, and to 
the east side and to the west side. 

" After this, his Grace was again borne to the 
high altar in his chair, and there sat bare-headed. 
And all his nobles and peers of the realm were 
about his Grace, and my Lord of Canterbury 
principal. And there made certain prayers and 
godly psalms over his Grace ; and the choire an- 
swered with goodly singing, the organs playing and 
trumpets blowing. Then, after a certain unction, 
blessing, and signing of his Grace, he was borne 
into a place by the high altar, where the Kings 
always use to kneel at the levation of the Par- 
liament-mass. And there his Grace was made 
ready of new garments ; and after a certain space 
brought forth between two noblemen, and sat be- 
fore the high altar bare-headed. Then after a 
while his Grace was anointed in the breast, his 
soles of his feet, his elbows, his wrists of his 
hands, and his crown of his head, with virtuous 
prayer, said by the Bishop of Canterbury, and 
sung by the choire. 

" Then, anon after this, a goodly fair cloth of 
red tinsel gold was hung over his head ; and my 
Lord of Canterbury kneeling on his knees, and 
his Grace lying prostrate before the altar, an- 
ointed his back. 

" Then after this, my Lord of Canterbury 
arose and stood up, and the fair cloth taken away. 
11 



162 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Then my Lord Protector, Duke of Somerset, 
held the crown in his hand a certain space ; and 
immediately after began Te Deum, with the or- 
gans going, the choire singing, and the trumpets 
playing in the battlement of the church. Then 
immediately after that, was the crown set on the 
King's Majesty's head by them two, (viz. Som- 
erset and the Archbishop of Canterbury,) and 
after that another crown ; and so his Grace was 
crowned with three crowns." 

We have copied thus far from Strype's " Me- 
morials of Cranmer." To this is added a most 
excellent speech of the Archbishop. In Bur- 
net's "Collection of Records" is the order for 
the coronation of King Edward, which was ob- 
served as above. 

King Henry had undoubtedly supposed that the 
terror of his name would preserve an observance 
of his commands after his death. He little knew 
the human heart. Affection is the only preserv- 
ative principle ; and, his son and Cranmer ex- 
cepted, probably in all the kingdom he was re- 
gretted by none. He fixed the majority of the 
Prince at the completion of his eighteenth * year, 
and appointed sixteen executors. Cranmer was 
the first. They all met immediately, and, strange 
as it may seem, agreed to name a Protector in 

* So says Hume. Smollet says, his fifleenth year. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 163 

defiance of Henry's will. The choice fell on 
the Earl of Hertford, who was the King's uncle. 

The friends of the Reformation no longer found 
it necessary to suppress their sentiments. The 
Protector professed the same opinions as Cran- 
mer, and the young Edward's mind and character 
had been formed by the Archbishop and his pre- 
ceptor Dr. Coxe, who embraced the Protestant 
principles. 

Gardiner, who had so long been an active en- 
emy to reform, was not named in Henry's will as 
an executor ; but his spirit was unbroken, and he 
immediately adopted active measures to preserve 
the worship of saints and images, and the use of 
holy water. 

We may now, perhaps, for the first time that 
we have known Cranmer, view him as acting for 
himself. Hitherto, he had been cramped by his 
own sense of duty to the royal authority. Nor 
can we help supposing that a certain unconscious 
terror had often influenced him in his intercourse 
with Henry. All men are not equally daring, 
nor can we bring them to the same standard of 
courage. Cranmer was a chosen instrument in 
promoting the Reformation, but the part that he 
acted was generally the defensive. This, as he 
was situated, was wise ; but, probably, had it not 
been so, he would never have had courage to act 
otherwise. He shrank from the savage ferocity 



164 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

of the royal eye when inflamed with anger, and, 
it is to be feared, sometimes compromised his 
sense of justice with his obedience. Courage is 
a constitutional gift, perhaps more decidedly than 
any other. Let us hope, that now the royal re- 
straint is removed which acted upon him like the 
fabled spells of old, we may see his mind and 
character asserting their true independence. 

The first care of Cranmer was, to find out 
means to instruct the people in religion. He 
invited the Bishop of Winchester to join him in 
the investigation. This was done probably in 
consistency with the caution of his character, 
rather than in the hope of receiving aid. 

Gardiner, as he could not but expect, refused 
his aid, requesting that all things appertaining to 
rehgion might remain during the King's minori- 
ty as they were, and particularly desired the 
Archbishop to refrain from making homilies, a 
measure he well knew that he purposed. 

When Cranmer found he could not persuade 
the Bishop of Winchester to join him, he began 
the work with such aid as he could find. Twelve 
homilies were immediately issued, and the para- 
phrase of Erasmus on the New Testament was 
translated into English. It is to the honor of 
Catharine Parr that a portion of this last work was 
translated during the life of Henry under her pat- 
ronage. The remainder was not yet in readiness, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 165 

but the parts finished, which were the four Gos- 
pels and the Acts of the Apostles, were put forth 
by Edward's authority ; and it was required, that 
every congregation should be supplied with a 
copy. 

Gardiner strenuously opposed these measures, 
and made particular objection to the homilies 
that were written by the Archbishop. There is 
every reason to suppose that Gardiner as truly as- 
serted his own convictions, as Cranmer did his ; 
but the times were altered, and Gardiner had 
now no weight of royalty to support his opinions. 
That there was a mixture of obstinacy and spleen 
in his opposition is obvious ; he greatly harassed 
the Archbishop by letters and observations. At 
length Cranmer told him, with a bitterness foreign 
to his nature, " that he liked nothing unless he did 
it himself, and that he disliked the homilies be- 
cause he was not a counsellor." 

The absence of the Protector, who had gone 
to Scotland on public affairs, gave Gardiner an 
opportunity of more fully opposing the measures 
of the Council, and he requested he might con- 
front them together. To this they agreed, and 
the day was appointed. Gardiner entered, dress- 
ed with much neatness and elegance, according to 
his usual custom. He was received with courte- 
sy by the Council, and Cranmer immediately en- 
tered into the argument. 



166 CHANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

*' It is fully my opinion," said Gardiner, " that 
it is not safe to make new stirs in religion. 
Nothing now ought to be done in church matters. 
As in a natural body rest without trouble confirms 
and strengthens, so in a Commonwealth trouble 
avalleth and bringeth things to weakness. I speak 
moreover in consideration of your safety, my 
Lord of Canterbury. I would not answer for 
your life when such alterations shall be made." 

For a long time they argued patiently, but at 
length both sides growing extremely Vv^arm, the 
interview was concluded by a measure highly dis- 
honorable to the Council. Gardiner was ordered 
to the Fleet prison. 

We can hardly Imagine a more disgraceful or 
impohtic act than this. They must have had but 
an imperfect idea of his character, if they expect- 
ed to convert him by punishment or persecution. 
It was precisely what he needed to elevate him 
to the rank of a hero, and, as such, was, and 
has continued to be, regarded by Catholic histo- 
rians. 

After he had been some time in the Fleet, 
Cranmer was sent by the Council to confer with 
him and endeavour to make him submit without 
further opposition to the prevailing measures. 

"I have come," said the Archbishop with his 
usual mildness, "because I consider you a man 
meet to be called into the Council ; but, never- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 167 

theless, standing too much in obstinacy, and wear- 
ing more the appearance of obstinacy than zeal 
for the truth. The books, which are now to be 
issued, are intended more to work a reform in 
men's lives and conduct, than in their religious 
opinions." 

" This might pass, my Lord," replied Gardi- 
ner, "if your Homihes were left out, particularly 
that on justification. The true sense of which 
is, ' We be justified by faith without all works 
of the law. Charity is a work of the law. Er- 
go^ we are justified without charity.' " 

" You pervert the meaning laid down," re- 
plied Cranmer, " which only tendeth to show the 
freedom of God's mercy, and that justification 
resteth with him alone." 

" There are as many faults in this homily," 
said Gardiner sarcastically, " as I have been weeks 
in prison ; and if you, my Lord of Canterbury, 
must needs travail in this matter, you must not 
expect us to believe that faith excludes charity in 
justification, unless you do it per force, and bor- 
row prisons of the Protector. Then you may 
find some that will agree with you, as poor men 
kneel at Rome when the Bishop of Rome goeth 
by, or else are knocked on the head with a hal- 
bard. As to Erasmus's Paraphrase, I find things 
enough to condemn in that. Never was there a 
truer saying, than that he laid the eggs which 



168 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Luther hatched. And, of all the monstrous opin- 
ions that have arisen in the world, this book has 
been one of the most fruitful sources. I said to 
you, my Lord, and to the Council generally, that 
the maHce and untruth which proceeded from 
Erasmus's pen w^as an abomination, and more es- 
pecially the ignorance of the translator ; and a 
charge of every parish to buy one thereby de- 
frauding the realm of twenty thousand pounds, (of 
which I have made an estimate,) by the buyers 
and price of the book. It is for this cause I was 
sent to the Fleet, where, God knows, I have en- 
dured every hardship. I have been allowed 
neither barber nor physician, neither servant nor 
tailor, neither friend nor chaplain." 

"Permit me, my Lord," replied Cranmer, 
'' to state to you the grounds on which you were 
committed to the Fleet. It was your declaration 
that the King ..." 

^' I recollect all that passed," said Gardiner 
vehemently, interrupting him. 

The Archbishop, finding himself borne down 
by words, though not by argument, soon retired. 

To Bonner, Bishop of London, the injunctions 
and Homihes were equally disagreeable ; and, 
after opposition on his part, he, too, was com- 
mitted to the Fleet. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 169 



CHAPTER XII. 

We now quit these arbitrary and injudicious 
proceedings for a time, and return to the young 
King. 

Edward was, from his birth, an uncommon 
child. He early discovered remarkable thought- 
fulness of character. It has often been mention- 
ed, that once, when engaged in some childish 
amusement, and not able to reach an object which 
he desired, one of his companions placed a large 
Bible on the floor for him to step on ; he care- 
fully took it up, and said, with glistening eyes ; 
'' I don't want to play any more now." His ob- 
servance of every rule in his education seemed 
to arise not so much from deference to his teach- 
ers, as from the just value he placed upon acquire- 
ments ; and, while some of his young compan- 
ions considered it great gain to evade a lesson, 
Edward perfectly comprehended that they were 
defrauding themselves. At eight years old he 
wrote Latin letters to his father, and also to the 
Archbishop, and Viscount Beauchamp, his uncle, 
afterwards Earl of Hertford. To Queen Cath- 



170 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

arine Parr he also wrote in Latin. Jerome Car- 
dan, an Italian, came to the court of England 
while Henry was living. Though a man of great 
learning, he seems to have been infected with the 
superstition of the times, and actually calculated 
the nativity of Edward. His testimony to the 
character of the young Prince is striking, as com- 
ing from a foreigner. 

" All the graces were in him. He had many 
tongues when he was yet but a child. Together 
with the English, his natural tongue, he had both 
Latin and French, nor was he ignorant of the 
Greek, Italian, and Spanish. But for the Eng- 
lish, French, and Latin, he was exact in them, 
and apt to learn every thing. Nor was he igno- 
rant of logic or the principles of natural philoso- 
phy, nor of music. The sweetness of his tem- 
per was such as became a mortal ; his gravity 
such as became the majesty of a King, and his 
disposition suitable to this high degree. In sum, 
that child was so bred, had such parts, was of 
such expectation, that he looked like a miracle 
of a man. These things are not spoken rhetor- 
ically, and beyond the truth, but are indeed short 
of it. He was a marvellous boy." 

He then goes on to mention questions that he 
asked him, and answers that he made, which show 
a surprising talent. Had this testimony been 
given during the life of Henry, we might have 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 171 

doubted his sincerity. But it was after the death 
of both father and son, that this character was 
drawn. 

" He began to love the liberal arts," says Car- 
dan, '' before he knew them, and to love them 
before he could use them ; and in him there was 
such an attempt of nature, that not only England, 
but the world, has reason to lament his being 
snatched away. How truly is it said of such ex- 
traordinary persons, that their lives are short, and 
seldom do they come to be old ! He gave us 
an essay of virtue, though he did not like to give 
a pattern of it. When the gravity of a King was 
needful, he carried himself like an old man ; and 
yet he was always affable and gentle, as became 
his age. He played on the lute, he meddled in 
affairs of state, and, for bounty, he did in that 
emulate his father ; though he, even when he en- 
deavoured to be too good, might appear to have 
been bad. But there was no ground for suspect- 
ing any such thing in the son, whose mind was 
cultivated by the study of philosophy."* 

Cardan lived to be old, and, after having been 
imprisoned at Bologna, retired to Rome and there 
ended his days. He was said to be eccentric 
and enthusiastic^ as his character of Edward 

* This sketch of Edward is copied from Burnet's " His- 
tory of the Reformation." 



172 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

somewhat shows. When free from pain, he usu- 
ally excited uneasy sensations by biting his lips, 
squeezing his fingers, &c. This, he said, reliev- 
ed him, or changed the course of those violent 
sallies of imagination, and lively impressions of 
the brain, which disturbed the tranquillity and se- 
rene composure of his mind. Though poor, he 
was honorable in his dealings, and never commit- 
ted any immoral action. It was a fact that he 
predicted the early death of Edward ; but this 
did not require supernatural skill to render it more 
than probable. He likewise cast his own nativi- 
ty, and fixed the day of his death. When it 
drew near, he refused to eat, and thus fulfilled his 
prophecy. His works, which are numerous, were 
printed at Lyons, in 1663. 

We have said, that it did not require supernat- 
ural skill to tremble for the life of the young 
Prince. There was that in the tones of his 
voice, in the clear and transparent hue of his 
complexion, in the lustrous brightness of his eye, 
that seemed more allied to a celestial than to an 
earthly nature. 

The day on which Hertford was appointed 
Protector, Edward was informed of it in pres- 
ence of the Council, and that it was done by unan- 
imous agreement. He pulled off his cap, and 
bowing gracefully round, said ; " We heartily 
thank you, my Lords, all ; and hereafter, jn all 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 173 

that ye shall have to do with us for any suit or 
causes, ye shall be heartily welcome." 

The dignity, yet sweetness of his deportment, 
in a boy not quite ten, astonished every one. He 
spoke and conducted himself with perfect self- 
possession, not that which arises from an over- 
weening sense of power, but from a mind fully 
conscious of the high office he was called to fill, 
and so absorbed in the sense of duty and responsi- 
bility as to forget himself. Yet there were times, 
when the light-hearted and innocent gayety of a 
child animated his boyish sports, when tops and 
marbles, hoops and balls, succeeded his hours of 
serious study. Then was his clear, musical voice, 
heard in the shout and laugh, that make the wel- 
kin ring. Then his light, agile form was first in 
those exercises that require activity of purpose, 
rather than animal strength and vigor. In these 
last, he early gave indications of debility, and 
often, after having won the prize for feats of ac- 
tivity, he would seat himself, panting and exhaust- 
ed, at the foot of a tree, throw off his cap, and, 
while his curls clustered round his damp forehead, 
and his face was pale (for, alas, there was none 
of the animated glow of health,) from exhaus- 
tion, he would take his Virgil from his pocket, and 
replenish his mind while his frame was recruiting 
its powers. 

Among his companions, royalty was forgotten. 



174 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

They were fellow associates and equals. Nor 
would he permit any privilege to be given to him- 
self which they did not share. Yet there was that 
in his deportment which restrained rudeness or 
riot. If his companions forgot themselves, he si- 
lently withdrew to a distance, and they felt at once 
that the spirit of love and purity was gone. The 
deference they paid to him was voluntary ; it was 
not given to the Prince, to the heir of Henry the 
Eighth, but to Edward, the loyal and rightful in- 
heritor of the virtues of Jane Seymour, on whom 
seemed to have descended her sweetness and re- 
finement. With her early death, Edward had 
naturally connected those tender and melancholy 
associations, that in such cases sometimes occur 
to a peculiarly sensitive and feeling child. She 
had died in giving birth to him, and he had an in- 
definite sense of responsibility resting upon him, 
that, as far as was possible, he was to make her 
place good, and keep alive her virtues. All that 
she numbered among her poor, he made his ; and 
his pocket-money was often expended in deeds 
of benevolence. 

The discrimination of his mind between act- 
ing and feeling was very remarkable ; he early 
comprehended that good thoughts and resolutions 
were only valuable as they produced active re- 
sults. On this account he was reserved as to his 
own emotions. They did not flow out spontane- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 175 

ously, as we usually see in childhood, and often in 
riper years. They were seeds that sprung up, 
and brought forth fruits. Had his disposition 
been less gentle and kind, this reserve might have 
been mistaken for pride or coldness. But his life 
was filled with good deeds, and no one could mis- 
take any little peculiarities of manner. The ques- 
tions which Cardan tells us he asked him in his fif- 
teenth year, will give an idea of the philosophical 
turn of his mind. We are to remember that he 
was then a monarch, surrounded with regal splen- 
dor. How meekly he sat upon the throne, and 
how quietly he wore the crown, proves that he 
prized it lightly, when compared with the immor- 
tal one he sought to win. 

"He asked me," said Cardan, "what was the 
subject of my books de Rerum Varietate, which 
I had dedicated to him. I answered, that in the 
first chapter, I gave the true cause of comets, 
which had long been inquired into, but was never 
found out before. 

" 'What is it ? ' said he. 

" I said, it was the concourse of the hght of 
wandering stars. 

" He answered, ' How can that be, since the 
stars move in different motions ? How comes it, 
that the comets are not soon dissipated, or do not 
move after them according to their different mo- 
tions ? ' 



176 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

" To this I answered ; they do move after 
them, but much quicker than they, by reason of 
the different aspect, as we see in a crystal, or 
when a rainbow rebounds from the wall ; for a lit- 
tle change makes a great difference of place. 

" But the King said, ' How can that be, where 
there is no subject to receive that light, as the 
wall is the subject for the rainbow ? " 

" To this I replied, that this was the milky 
way, or where many candles were lighted ; the 
middle place where their shining met, was white 
and clear." 

Lingard mentions deviations from the usual 
form of coronations when Edward was crowned. 
" That the delicate health of the young King 
might not suffer from fatigue, the accustomed cer- 
emony was considerably abridged, and, under 
pretence of respect for the laws and constitution 
of the realm, an important alteration was intro- 
duced into that part of the form which had been 
devised by our Saxon ancestors, to put the new 
sovereign in mind that he held this crow^n by the 
free choice of the nation. Hitherto, it had been 
the custom for the Archbishop, first to receive 
the King's oath to preserve the liberties of the 
realm, and then to ask the people if they were 
willing to accept him, and obey him as their liege 
Lord. Now, the order was inverted ; and not 
only did the address to the people precede the 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 177 

oath of the King, but in that very address they 
were reminded, that he held his crown by descent, 
and that it was their duty to subnait to his rule. 
' Sirs,' said the metropolitan, (Cranmer,) ' I here 
present King Edward, rightful and undoubted in- 
heritor by the laws of God and man to the royal 
dignity and crown imperial of this realm, whose 
consecration, inunction, and coronation, is ap- 
pointed by all the nobles and peers of the land to 
be this day. Will ye serve at this time, and give 
your good will and assents to the same consecra- 
tion, inunction, and coronation, as by your duty 
of allegiance ye be bound to do ? ' " 

We give this quotation from the Catholic histo- 
rian, who appears to us generally candid and just. 
Nor do we doubt, that Cranmer, in consideration 
of the delicate health of the young King, might 
have omitted some of the usual forms. Instead 
of a sermon, he made a short and comprehen- 
sive address, the whole of which may be found 
in Strype's '' Memorials of Cranmer." We on- 
ly extract a few sentences, to show the character 
of it. 

" The solemn rites of coronation have their 
ends and utility ; yet neither direct force of ne- 
cessity. They be good admonitions to put kings 
in mind of their duty to God, but no encrease- 
ment of their dignity, for they be God's anoint- 
ed ; not in respect of the oil which the Bishop 
12 



178 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

useth, but in consideration of their power, which 
is ordained ; of the sword, which is authorized ; 
of their persons, which are elected of God, and 
endued with the gifts of his spirit, for the better 
ruHng and guiding the people. 

" Your Majesty is God's vicegerent, and 
Christ's vicar within your own dominions, and, to 
see, with your predecessor Josias, God truly wor- 
shipped and idolatry destroyed, the tyranny of 
the Bishop of Rome banished from your subjects, 
and images removed. These acts be the signs 
of a second Josias, who reformed the church of 
God in his days. You are to reward virtue, to 
revenge sin, to justify the innocent, to relieve the 
poor, to procure peace, to repress violence, and 
to execute justice throughout your realms. 

" For precedents on those kings who per- 
formed not these things, the Old Law shows how 
the Lord revenged his quarrel ; and on those 
kings who fulfilled these things he poured forth 
his blessings in abundance. For example, it is 
written of Josias, in the book of Kings, thus ; 
' Like unto him there was no King, that turned 
to the Lord with all his heart, according to all the 
law of Moses ; neither after him arose there any 
like him.' This was to that prince a perpetual 
fame and dignity, to remain to the end of his 
days." 

Hitherto, there seems to have been no one 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 179 

that, from his birth, had so entirely engaged the 
affection of Edward, as Cranmer. Young as the 
Prince was, he felt the influence of the Primate's 
good sense, while the tenderness and gentleness 
of his counsels suppHed to him in some measure 
the place of a mother. The spring of fihal aflec- 
tion, which rises in the heart, easily overflows. 
Edward's nature was one of love, and it was happy 
for him that such a man as the Archbishop was 
near him. Henry seems to have seen the influ- 
ence he exercised over Edward, with complacen- 
cy ; and, in naming him first among the sixteen 
counsellors, proved that he stood prominent in his 
mind. 

The first meeting of the august body, as we 
have seen, changed the King's testament, and the 
Earl of Hertford was chosen Protector. This 
measure was opposed by one of them, Wrioth es- 
ly, the inhuman torturer of Anne Askew. But 
it appeared obvious that a head was wanting to 
the body of counsellors, and the maternal uncle 
of the King, a man of unblemished character, 
was the most eligible. He was created Duke 
of Somerset, and under that title is universal- 
ly known. This choice was perfectly in unison 
with Cranmer's views and wishes. Somerset was 
friendly to the Reformation, and the greatest 
friendship and harmony had existed between 
them. 



180 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The measures for the Reformation now went 
on for a time with little serious opposition. The 
spirit of Cranmer is manifest, particularly, in what 
was called the royal visitation^ which was the step 
that first excited the impetuous opposition of the 
Bishop of Winchester. He saw in it a complete 
overthrow of the ancient faith, and a total aboli- 
tion of the use of Catholic ordinances. With 
how little success he at this period opposed the 
measures of the reformers, has been seen. Cran- 
mer, who acted by the authority of the Protector, 
and was the soul of the Protestant faith in Eng- 
land, was fully aware that Henry's system had 
been rather to increase his own power in opposi- 
tion to the Pope, than to encourage the vital spirit 
of reform ; and he now seriously set about build- 
ing up, as well as pulling down. 

He was averse to all violent changes, and wish- 
ed to effect them gradually. It was, therefore, a 
great object with him, to retain all the ancient 
forms that could be kept consistently with the 
new faith, and to estabhsh a hierarchy, which, 
while it included that system of doctrine and dis- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 181 

cipline which he deemed the most pure and per- 
fect, might be an effectual barrier against the Cath- 
olic religion, and yet keep alive those of its cere- 
monies which he considered harmless. It was 
on this principle, that the English hierarchy was 
formed, and, if the preservation of it is a proof 
of its excellence, as it has subsisted so many 
years without any essential change, we must allow 
its wisdom. The same argument, however, is 
used with perhaps equal force by the Catholics, 
in support of their ancient faith. 

The first measure was the visitation^ which 
consisted of a certain number of clergy and laity, 
who were to correct immoralities, to abolish the 
ancient superstitions among the dioceses of Eng- 
land, such as sprinkling their beds with holy water 
and using consecrated candles to drive away the 
Devil. 

At the present day we may smile at the idea 
of removing superstition by authority. It melts 
away before the diffusion of knowledge. It was 
not the penal laws against witchcraft and necro- 
mancy, that brought them into disrepute. It was 
the light of intellect that made them ridiculous 
long before they were illegal. 

While these measures were going on with the 
utmost steadiness and moderation, and all images 
preserved which had not been abused by idolatry, 
the Protector formed the project of uniting the 



182 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

two kingdoms of Scotland and England, by the 
marriage of Mary, daughter of the Queen Dow- 
ager, sister of Henry, to the young King Edward. 

The Queen Dowager's attachment to Erance, 
and her devotion to the Catholic religion, rendered 
this negotiation ineffectual ; and, as Somerset 
considered it an object of the highest political 
moment, he determined to woo for Edward bv 
the force of arms. Every history of the two 
kingdoms gives a minute recital of the battles 
which took place, and which seemed to have no 
decisive result, except that of throwing the young 
Queen into the power of the French. She was 
betrothed to the Dauphin and sent to France. 

Edward was yet too young to take any other 
interest in this negotiation than as an affair of 
the realm. If he had understood its true na- 
ture, and how intimately his future weal or woe 
might have been implicated in the success, even 
then his sensitive spirit might have hesitated. 
What sensations rise in the mind at the mention 
of the Scottish Queen, the beautiful, imprudent, 
and ill-fated Mary ! Ages have passed since her 
fate was consummated. Her fame has been 
blackened by enemies, her conduct censured by 
the cautious and the candid, and yet the cruel 
deed of the wise and successful Elizabeth is con- 
templated with sensations of horror and disgust. 
In her conduct towards her confiding relative she 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 183 

proved herself the legitimate daughter of the 
murderer of her mother. 

Although the Protector had failed in his pro- 
ject of uniting the two kingdoms, he obtained 
several victories over the Scots, and returned 
home covered with honors, and immediately call- 
ed a Parhament. 

There are few that meekly sustain the elevation 
of rank. The Duke seems to have been elated 
by his success, and made a foolish request to the 
young King, that he would grant him a patent al- 
lowing him to sit at his right hand on the throne. 
Edward wilhngly complied, and ordered a seat to 
be placed there for that purpose. 

Slight as this concession seems, it was the 
cause of much ill will towards the Duke, who 
claimed (the Peers said) the same privileges as 
the blood royal. 

Somerset passed several laws during this ses- 
sion that annulled much of the severity of former 
acts. Heresy, still, however, was considered a 
capital crime, and punished by burning. 

Soon after the death of Henry the Eighth, his 
widow, Catharine Parr, married Lord Seymour, 
brother to the Protector. It was said that she 
had been attached to him before her marriage with 
the King. She certainly did not think it neces- 
sary to keep up much form on this occasion, as 
they were united immediately after her royal hus- 



184 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

band's death. Seymour, Lord Admiral, was a 
man of great ambition, and boasted to his sister- 
in-law, the wife of the Protector, that his wife 
Catharine, held the first place in the realm. The 
Duchess of Somerset could by no means brook 
this idea, having fully believed that the first place 
belonged to herself, and immediately conceived 
the petty rivalry of a vain and foolish woman. 
Catharine was every way her superior, and entered 
but httle into the heart-burnings that existed with 
her sister-in-law. Meanwhile the Duchess im- 
prudently repeated the observations of Paget, the 
secretary of Somerset, who remarked, that Sey- 
mour was forming intrigues among the counsel- 
lors, corrupting by presents the King's servants, 
and striving by excessive indulgence to win the 
affections of the monarch himself. There proba- 
bly was foundation for these suspicions ; but the 
mild temper of Somerset made him overlook 
them, and the sudden death of Seymour's wife, 
the Queen Dowager, appeased the resentment of 
the Duchess by removing her rival. 

For a time, all enmity seemed to have died 
away, till it was discovered that Seymour was 
trying to win the affections of Elizabeth, then in 
her sixteenth year. It is said she received him 
with complacency. But little weight, however, 
ought to be given to the slanders of a court, 
where, under the mask of courtesy, the worst pas- 



CRANMEE, AND HIS TIMES. 185 

sions are often in operation ; and, even admitting 
that the same fondness for admiration actuated her 
then, which she betrayed in later years, when 
Leicester and Essex received the fatal distinc- 
tion of her favor, it was the slightest of all testi- 
monies to his influence. The other charge, too, 
seems unimportant, of endeavouring to seduce the 
young King into his interests. Edward loved 
every one who discovered affection for him, and 
it was natural that both of his uncles should hold 
a high place in his regard. 

The political charges against Seymour are of 
much stronger import, and such as could not be 
easily parried. He openly derided his brother's 
measures, and even went so far as to provide 
arms for his retainers, that they might be in readi- 
ness for rebeUion. The Protector at first sought 
to convince him of the folly, and represented the 
ruin that must accrue to both from family divis- 
ions. But Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who was 
one of the Council, found it convenient for his 
own views to foment the difference between the 
brothers. 

Somerset, for a long time, resisted all provoca- 
tions that aimed only at himself ; and it was not till 
the public peace was endangered by Seymour's 
seditious measures, that he used his royal author- 
ity, and deprived him of the office of Admiral. 
Even then he offered to suspend all further pros- 



186 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES, 

ecudon, if his brother would be cordially recon- 
ciled, and consent to retire to the country on a pa- 
ternal estate which he offered to surrender to him. 

Seymour received these conciliatory terms with 
the utmost indignation, and defied him to do his 
worst. Articles were then drawn up against him, 
and he was committed to the Tower, and, soon 
after, executed. There seems to have been in- 
formalities in his trial, the details of which are 
given in the first volume of " British State Tri- 
als." That the warrant was signed by his brother, 
fills us with horror ; and that Cranmer signed it, 
excites our indignation, though this was a necessa- 
ry consequence of the o^ther. The young King, 
when appHed to on the occasion, appears to have 
considered it a subject which he could not fully 
comprehend, but one from which he turned with 
aversion. If the peace of the realm demanded 
decisive measures, it was not for him to avert the 
blow from his own private feelings. He therefore 
thanked the counsellors for their care of his safety, 
and commanded them "to do what was right with- 
out further molesting him ; " and when they still 
represented the necessity of punishment, he said, 
with an impatience that betokened his state of feel- 
ing, " No more, I pray you, my Lords, no more." 

Alas ! that one so gentle, so full of peace and 
Christian love, should be called on to assent to 
such deeds. We are almost ready to hope and 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 187 

believe, that an earthly crown will soon be ex- 
changed for an immortal one. 

Hugh Latimer, a man of the most amiable 
character, of uncommon learning, but almost 
childish simphcity, delivered a sermon at West- 
minster, on the 29th day of March. Seymour 
was beheaded on the 20th. This was published 
in the first edition of his sermons, but has since 
been omitted. It certainly does not do him much 
credit, and is more remarkable for its childish 
vituperation of Seymour, than for piety or good 
sense. One sentence only, from his seventh 
sermon, we quote. 

" I have heard say, when that good Queene " 
(meanmg Catharine Parr, his wife,) " that is gone, 
ordained in her house dayly prayer, both before 
none and after none, the Admyral gettes hym out 
of the waye, like a moule diggyng in the earth. 
He shall be Lot's wyfe to me as long as I lyve. 
He was a covetous manne, an horrible covetous 
manne ; I woulde there were no mo in Englande : 
he was an ambicious man ; I woulde there were 
no mo in Englande : he was a sedicious man, a 
contemner of Commune Prayer ; I woulde there 
were no mo in Englande : he is gone, I woulde 
he had lefte none behind him." 

Soon after Henry's death, the Archbishop sent 
for his wife, *^nne7!^o return to him. The exact 
time is not known, as he did not openly brave the 




188 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

law made by the late King, but she always lived 
much in retirement. This was consonant to her 
own taste, and Edward made ample provision for 
her and her children, adding to and confirming a 
former gift of his royal father's, which could not 
be alienated. It was not, however, till 1548,, 
that the Parliament enacted a law, permitting the 
marriage of priests, yet, in the preamble, recom- 
mending it to them not to marry. 

During this session, other important acts were 
passed. Cranmer had effected what he had so 
many years been patiently laboring for. The 
principal tenets and practices of the Catholic 
Church were nearly abolished, and the Reforma- 
tion, as it stands in the Church of England, was 
adopted. The doctrine of the real presence was 
still, however, maintained, with great zeal by many,„ 
Bonner had been deprived of his See for this 
offence, and Gardiner, who had now recovered his 
liberty, maintaining this and other heretic doc- 
trines, was sent to the Tower. The term heretic 
had wholly changed its meaning. Those were 
heretics who maintained the Popish articles, and 
this was one of the most important. 

To effect a uniformity, however, in religious 
opinions, when the Bible was again opened to the 
laity, and their minds were suffered to act with 
freedom, was impossible. Though Cranmer and 
other Protestant divines had ventured to renounce 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 189 

opinions sanctioned by ages, they considered their 
own the standard of right, and sought by penal 
measures to convince men of the truth. 

A commission was made out for the Primate, 
and those he should appoint, to examine and 
search for heretics who should refuse the Book of 
Common Prayer, now the established faith. In 
the execution of this commission, they were not 
bound to observe the common judicial laws ; they 
might impose whatever penances they pleased, 
condemn or absolve as they saw fit, imprison 
and deliver over to the secular arm. Thus was 
Cranmer constituted at once Grand Inquisitor. 
Happily his temper made this power less terrible 
than might have been feared. Many were brought 
before him w^hom he dismissed, not choosing to 
consider their heresy fatal to the cause of religion, 
or else persuading them to such abjurations of 
their opinions as satisfied his own conscience. 

But there was one woman who was so pertina* 
cious,that the commissioners could obtain no con- 
cessions. This was the memorable Joan Booker, 
of Kent. Her opinions seem to have no clear 
definition, and might have been suffered to pass 
as the ravings of a maniac. Cranmer, after try- 
ing hard to convince her, pronounced against her a 
sentence of excommunication, and she was deliv- 
ered over to the secular arm. 

This case had, from accidental circumstances,. 



190 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

been brought more particularly before the young 
King, than others had been. Though yet a child, 
compared to the learned men about him, he re- 
fused to sign the mandate for her execution, and 
she remained in prison a year. During that time 
she was visited by Cranmer, and by Ridley, 
Bishop of London. But she adhered inflexibly 
to her opinion, " that Christ was not flesh, and 
that our Saviour had a fantastical body." 

Some historians have endeavoured to prove, 
that Cranmer had no part in condemning this un- 
fortunate woman to the stake ; but it is too well 
known that he used every argument with the 
young King to persuade him, that it was a neces- 
sary act, and to induce him to set his hand to the 
warrant. 

Let us imagine the scene for a moment. Cran- 
mer, invested with all the authority of the Church, 
the chosen counsellor of Edward's father, the 
man whom he loved and revered and whose puri- 
ty and benevolence had been fully proved, stood 
before the princely boy, so young, so gentle, and, 
hitherto, so obedient. He offers him the pen, 
which Edward rejects with his hand, while he 
averts his eyes from the fatal and murderous war- 
rant. Cranmer reasons and urges, pleads the ne- 
cessity of punishing such obstinate error by death, 
and that, painful and agonizing to him as was this 
deed, nothing short of it could permanently se- 



GRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 191 

cure the truth from violation. The venerable 
form of the Primate becomes agitated under the 
strength of his own emotion. There is a con- 
vincing power in sincerity, and Cranmer spake 
from the conviction of his own soul. *' My 
Lord," said he, "I urge you to this measure 
with bitterness and anguish." 

Still Edward resists. 

'' If there is sin in this deed," continues the 
Archbishop, "it will rest on my head. Were 
this merely an error, it might pass ; but it is de- 
nying the Apostles' Creed ; it is impiety against 
God, which you, as God's deputy, are bound to 
repress." 

Edward takes the pen again offered to him. 
The tears which had stood in his eyes course 
down his cheeks. 

"Be it so, then. If there is sin, it rests on 
you ; for God knows how unwillingly I sign this 
warrant." 

The deed is done ! and the poor, ignorant en- 
thusiast is burned at the stake. 

Bitterly must the friends of Cranmer lament 
this decision of the darkest bigotry. Hitherto, 
in errors that have most tried our veneration for 
the prelate, we have seen him fettered by his 
sense of loyalty, or yielding from necessity to the 
laws of the land. But we here behold him act- 
ing for himself, with perfect deliberation, and 



192 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

urging his beloved pupil to a deed of blood. 
We can only repeat a sentence from his own 
Litany ; 

'' Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the 
offences of our forefathers ; neither take Thou 
vengeance of our sins : spare us, good Lord, 
spare thy people." 



CEANMER AND HIS TIMES. 193 



CHAPTER XIV. 

While these scenes were passing, Edward 
seems to have been perfecting himself in learning 
and Christian graces. His original journal, in his 
own hand, is preserved in the Cottonian libra- 
ry. It begins the first year of his reign, and 
seems to be a narration of events which passed at 
the time. It may be interesting to transcribe a 
short account of an entertainment, in June, 1549. 

" I went to Deptford, being bidden to supper 
by Lord Clinton ; where, before supper, I saw 
certain men standing upon one end of a boat, 
without holding of any thing, and ran one at an- 
other, till one was cast into the water. At sup- 
per Monsieur Vicedam and Henandie supped 
with me. After supper, there was made a fort 
upon a great lighter on the Thames, which had 
three walls, and a watch-tower, in the midst of 
which Mr. Winter was captain, with forty or fifty 
other soldiers in yellow and black. To the fort 
also appertained a gallery of yellow color, with 
men and ammunition in it for defence of the cas- 
tle. Wherefore there came four pinnaces with 
their men in white, handsomely dressed ; which, 
13 



194 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

intending to give assault to the castle, first drove 
away the pinnace, and after, with clods, squibs, 
canes of fire-darts made for the nonce, and bom- 
bards, assaulted the castle ; and at last came with 
their pieces and burst the outer walls of the cas- 
tle, beating them off the castle into the second 
ward, who after issued out and drove away the 
pinnaces, sinking one of them, out of which, all 
the men in it, being more than twenty, leaped out 
and swam upon the Thames. Then came the 
Admiral of the Navy, with three other pinnaces, 
and won the castle by assault, and burst the top 
of it down, and took the Captain and under Cap- 
tain. Then the Admiral went forth to take the 
yellow ship, and at length clasped with her, took 
her, and assaulted also her top, and won it also by 
compulsion, and so returned home." 

It is observable, that in this and other parts of 
his journal, there is no mention of himself as the 
object of the entertainments. He appears to con- 
sider himself like the other spectators, rather than 
as the King of a great nation, for whom they were 
made. The remarkable simplicity of this diary, 
recording only events, is striking. Seldom does 
he appear as an actor in the scene. His own 
opinions, or emotions, are never introduced. 
How unlike the egotism of youth ! 

The journal continues ; 

" April. A challenge made by me, that I, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 195 

with sixteen of my chamber, should run at base, 
shoot, run at the ring with seventeen of my ser- 
vants, gentlemen of the Court." 

The first day of the challenge at base or run- 
ning, the King won. " I lost the challenge of 
shooting at rounds, and won at rovers." 

Throughout the journal there are slight allu- 
sions to his sister Mary's opposition. 

" The lady Mary, my sister, came to me to 
Westminster, where, after salutations, she was 
called with my Council into a chamber ; where 
was declared to her how long I had suffered her 
mass in hope of her reconciliation, and how now, 
being no hope which I perceived by her letters, 
except I saw some short amendment, I could not 
bear it. She answered that her soul was God's, 
and her faith she would not change, nor dissem- 
ble her opinion with contrary doings. It was said, 
I constrained not her faith, but willed her not as 
a king to rule, but as a subject to obey ; and 
that her example might breed too much incon- 
venience." 

The following year, in June, is this entry in 
the diary ; wj|l 

" June 22d. C The lady Mary sent letters to 
the Council, marvelling at the imprisonment of 
Dr. Mallet, her chaplain, for saying of mass be- 
fore the household, seeing it was promised to the 



196 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Emperor's ambassador, that she should have the 
mass said continually before them. 

" 24th. They answered, '- That because of 
their duties to their King, country, and friends, 
they were compelled to give her answer, that they 
would see not only him, but also all other mass- 
sayers, and breakers of orders, strictly punished. 
And, as for promise, they had nor would give 
none to make her free from the punishment of 
the law in that behalf.' " 

After the negotiation for the marriage of Ed- 
ward with Mary, Queen of Scots, was set aside, 
another was proposed between him and the French 
king's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, to which Ed- 
ward says, "they did most cheerfully assent. 
So after they agreed, neither party to be bound in 
conscience nor honor till she were twelve years 
of age and upwards. [The French king was 
then Henry the Second, successor of Francis.] 
Then they came to the dot^ which was first asked 
1,500,000 scutes of France, at which they made 
a mock ; also for donatio propter nuptias, they 
agreed that it should be as great as had been 
given by the King my father, to any wife he 
had," even Catharine of Aragon. 

" 22d. Our commissioners came to 1,400,000 
of crowns, which they refused ; then to a million, 
w^hich they denied ; then to 800,000, which they 
said they would not agree to. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 197 

'' 23d. Then our commissioners asked what 
they would offer. First, they offered 100,000 
of crowns ; then 200,000, which they said was 
the most, and more than ever was given. Then 
followed great reasonings, and showing of presi- 
dents [precedents], but no nearer would they 
come. 

" 24 th. Then went forward under the penal- 
ties if the parties misliked, after that the King's 
daughter were twelve years old and upwards, 
which the French offered 100,000, 50,000 
crowns, and promises, that she should be brought 
at her father's charge, three months before she 
was twelve, sufficiently jewelled and stuffed. 
Then bonds to be delivered alternately at London 
and at Paris, and so forth." 

This w^as the second gallant negotiation for the 
nuptials of Edward. 

" July 26th. Monsieur de Mareschal (who 
was ambassador from the French) dined with me. 
After dinner, saw the strength of the English 
archers. After he had so done, at his departure 
I gave him a diamond from my finger, worth by 
estimation one hundred and fifty pounds, both for 
his pains and also by memory." 

These nuptial matters were relinquished. A 
year later, is recorded another fete. 

" The same night was first a play, after a talk 
between one that was called Riches, and the other 



198 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Youth, whether of them was better. After some 
pretty reasoning, there came in six champions on 
either side. 



'' On Riches' side 
my Lord Fitzwarren 
with five others." 



" On Youth's side 
came my Lord Fitz- 
worthy. [Five others 
are mentioned.] 

This is all the account we have of the drama, 
though there were tournaments and masks suc- 
ceeding it. 

In the third year of the journal, a slight men- 
tion is made of the burning of " Joan Bocher, 
always called Joan of Kent," but no comments 
of his own on the subject. This fully shows the 
principle upon which the journal was kept ; other- 
wise, an event which had cost him so much sor- 
row, and so many tears, and which he contended 
against for a whole year, would have called forth 
a history of his emotion. 

It was in the year 1548, that Cranmer began 
his labors on the liturgy of the Church of Eng- 
land. Strype gives the names of the twelve 
commissioners who were engaged with him. 
Their object was, to preserve all they could of 
the old form, and divest it of its superstitions. 
Le Bas, in his "Life of Cranmer," enumerates 
the essential advantages of this performance, 
quoted from Ridley. 

'' 1st. The service in a language known to the 
people. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 199 

"2nd. Scripture lessons instead of legendary 
tales. 

" 3d. The Bible read through in order, with- 
out interruptions. 

"4th. The creed more properly disposed. 

" 5th. The Lord's Prayer introduced imme- 
diately before reading or other devotion. 

" 6th. Repeated audibly instead of secretly. 

" 7th. The Ave-Maria omitted. 

" 8th. The monkish metrical hymns rejected. 

" 9th. The prayers for the dead omitted. 

" 10th, and lastly. Addresses to saints to- 
gether with consecrations, exorcisms, and absolu- 
tion, in the precatory form, without any procla- 
mation of the power of the keys." 

The book was received by the laity generally 
with great satisfaction. The clergy were by no 
means satisfied with it. 



200 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 



CHAPTER XV. 

In 1549, the kingdom was in a tumultuous 
state from a severe famine, which arose from vari- 
ous circumstances, explained at length in Hume's 
" History of England." The priests took this 
opportunity to influence the minds of the people 
against the new doctrines. They said, " The 
famine was a judgment for the abolition of the 
Cathohc religion ; and, till that was restored, the 
people must not look either for seed-time or har- 
vest." 

Such suggestions at once found partisans, and 
numbers enhsted in bodies, carrying banners, and 
calhng their march the " pilgrimage of Grace." 
They first attacked Exeter, but the inhabitants 
refused to join them. Finding, however, the re- 
bellion serious. Lord Russell was sent against 
them and routed them. The Archbishop, in this 
affair, commands our entire reverence. He an- 
swered the articles of their petition one by one, 
and strongly reminds us of Luther's reply to in- 
surgents on another occasion. 

" Your first article," says the Archbishop, 
*' begins thus; 'We will have'. Is this the 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 201 

fashion of subjects to speak unto their Prince ? 
Was it ever before used since the beginning of 
the world ? '' He then appeals to them as house- 
holders, whether they would suffer their servants 
and retainers to come to them, sword in hand, 
whh this language ; We will have. St. Peter 
says, ' Be subject unto kings,' &c. And can you 
think it meet and lawful for you to disobey your 
undoubted King ; being a Prince most innocent, 
most godly, and most careful for your sorrow and 
wealth ? If any thing can declare disobedience, 
what can declare it more than subjects to come 
with force of arms to their natural Prince and 
King, and say, ' This we will have.' " 
• He answers all their articles at length, and in a 
manner which discovers great knowledge of the 
genius of the people. His calm, judicious, ener- 
getic arguments produced great effect. 

Many discourses by the learned men of the 
limes were written against this sedition. Peter 
Martyr and Martin Bucer both wrote. The 
latter had sought an asylum in England ; by Cran- 
mer's particular invitation, he resided wholly with 
the Archbishop as long as he hved. 

An office of fasting was composed for this re- 
bellion, and then the following prayer, by the 
Primate. 

" O Lord, whose goodness far exceedeth our 
naughtiness, and whose mercy passeth all measure, 



202 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

we confess thy judgment to be most just, and 
that we worthily have deserved this rod, where- 
with thou hast now beaten us. We have offend- 
ed the Lord God ; we have hved wickedly ; we 
have gone out of the way ; we have not heard 
thy prophets which thou hast sent unto us to teach 
us thy Word, nor have done as thou hast com- 
manded us. Wherefore, we be most worthy to 
suffer all the plagues. Thou hast done justly, 
and we be worthy to be confounded. But we 
provoke unto thy goodness ; we appeal unto thy 
mercy ; we humble ourselves ; we knowledge our 
faults. We turn to Thee, O Lord, with our 
whole hearts, in praying, in fasting, in lamenting, 
and sorrowing for our offences. Have mercy 
upon us, cast us not away according to our de- 
serts, but hear us and dehver us with speed, and 
call us to Thee again, according to thy mercy ; 
that we, with one consent and one mind, may 
ever more glorify Thee, world without end. 
Amen." 

It was in the spirit of this prayer, that the 
Archbishop sought to bring over the discontented. 
But we think he failed in one branch of wisdom 
which Luther particularly understood ; — admitting 
all that was true in their complaints, and thereby 
winning their confidence, and preparing them 
gradually for a better state of mind. Luther's 
object was to make the people reform themselves; 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 203 

Cranmer's, to reform them. Luther admitted the 
wrongs done to them ; Cranmer carefully avoids 
this subject, and confines himself to the wrongs 
they were doing the King, the realm, and pure 
religion. 

Yet, that their grievances were great, we can- 
not doubt. " The rents of farms were raised, 
when the abbey-lands were distributed among the 
principal nobility and courtiers, while the tenants 
found not the same facility in disposing of the 
produce ; the money was often spent in the capi- 
tal, and the farmers, living at a distance, were 
exposed to oppression from their new masters, or 
to the still greater rapacity of the stewards." * 
In fact, the evils that the Irish have suffered, and 
are still suffering, affected at that time the realm 
of England. 

Added to other grievances, was the luxury of 
the nobility, and men of overgrown fortunes, who 
could afford to dismiss the poor cottagers, expel 
them from their habitations, pull down their 
houses, and enclose the grounds for parks, tourna- 
ments, and tilting matches. 

Somerset seems to have felt truly the rights of 
the people, of which we think Cranmer had by 
no means a just conception. He appointed com- 
missioners to look into their complaints, and gave 

* Hume. 



204 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

them power to redress their injuries. This meas- 
ure was exceedingly offensive to the nobility, 
who stigmatized it as arbitrary and illegal, as a 
measure for increasing the popularity of the Pro- 
tector, and finally went so far as to declare, that 
a man who had signed the death-warrant for his 
own brother's execution, would consider usurpa- 
tion of the throne a shght transgression. 

These insurrections were soon suppressed, 
though in Norfolk they for a time wore an alarm- 
ing appearance. A tanner by the name of Ket 
assumed the government, — a bold, daring, un- 
principled man, — and, by his appeal to the pas- 
sions of the people, collected round him subjects 
to the amount of twenty thousand. He at first 
proposed merely the suppression of the gentry, 
and placing new counsellors about the King ; but 
in a short time he determined to be king him- 
self. He held his court at Mousehold-hill, near 
Norwich, under an old oak, (such as are still the 
pride and boast of England,) whose thick and 
v/ide-branching foliage made it the monarch among 
trees. It was afterwards called "the oak of 
Reformation." Here, King Ket assembled what 
he called the gentry, too few in number to resist, 
and gave such decrees as might be expected, and 
which, had they not been trembling for their lives, 
would have excited their mirth. The Earl of 
Warwick, afterward Duke of Northumberland, 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 205 

put them to flight, and the insurrection was com- 
pletely quelled. 

The nobility could not forgive the Protector 
for a general pardon which he now granted, against 
the advice of the Council. They were of opin- 
ion, that it was better to keep the people under 
the lash. 

About this time a settlement was made of a 
controversy which had long existed about the pro- 
nunciation of Greek. It had hitherto been pro- 
nounced like English. Gardiner, who was ever 
ready to resist innovations, strongly opposed the 
reform. At length, however, it was carried, and 
with it a penalty of a pubhc whipping for those 
who did not adopt the true Greek pronunciation ! 

Bonner, Bishop of London, was another op- 
poser of all innovations. Though he had yielded 
partial obedience, it was evidently against his in- 
clination. He was enjoined by the Council to 
deliver a sermon setting forth particular points, 
and, among the rest, it was thought proper to 
show, that "the King was no less a king in his 
minority, than when he was of full age." 

The first of September was the day appointed 
to preach. A great assembly collected, among 
them Latimer and Hooper. Bonner touched 
hghtly on the points enjoined, and dwek wholly 
on the sacrament, asserting the reality of the cor- 
poreal presence ; but wholly omitted any mention 



206 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

of the King, probably aware that in so doing, he 
was particularly opposing the Archbishop, whom 
he most cordially disliked. 

When an account was brought of the manner 
in which he had executed his orders, full authority 
was given to Cranmer and Ridley, with others, to 
summon him before them, and ''suspend, im- 
prison, or deprive him, as they saw fit." 

On the tenth of the month he was summoned 
to Lambeth. The commissioners, with Cranmer 
at their head, were waiting to receive him. He 
entered the court where they sat, with a careless, 
nonchalant air, and walked towards a window, 
affecting not to see them. This, no doubt, must 
have astonished the august body, even in the in- 
vincible Bonner. Some one, however, pulled 
him by the sleeve, and reminded him that the 
commissioners were present, at which he took off 
his cap, and said, shghtingly, " I cry you mercy, 
my Lords ; I had not observed you." 

They immediately proceeded to inform him 
of what he was accused, that is, of not speaking 
of the King ; for nothing else was actionable. 

"My mind," said he, " was filled with the im- 
portant understanding of the mass ; but I think I 
neglected nothing of importance that was en- 
joined." 

The witnesses were then brought, and deposed 
against him. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 207 

'' Noble Sirs," said he, meaning the witnesses, 
the venerable Bishops Latimer and Hooper, 
''your testimony I deny. One talks like a wood- 
cock, and the other like a goose." 

The Archbishop, who seems never to have 
suffered his indignation to get the mastery, asked 
him, "if he was willing to refer the matter in 
proof to the people who heard him ; " and then, 
turning to many who were collected, asked them, 
"whether they heard him speak of the King's 
authority when under age." 

Many voices replied, "No, no." 

Bonner looked round at them with supreme 
contempt, and said, laughing, "Will you believe 
this fond people ? these dunces and fools ? " 

As he behaved more like a madman than a 
Bishop, they postponed the trial to the next day. 

Bonner, when again before them, did not ap- 
pear to have improved in manners, though there 
was much argument on both sides. He said, that 
he had ^^ forgotten to mention the King." He 
read passages out of a book of Hooper's, calling 
the venerable man " that varlet." He then turn- 
ed to address the people, and was interrupted by 
one of the delegates, who told him he was to 
speak to them^ and not to the people ; at which 
he hastily turned round, saying between his teeth, 
" Woodcocks ! woodcocks ! " He constantly 
evaded any direct answer. Cranmer admon- 



208 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

ished him for his irreverence, and told him that it 
was not justifiable to call his judges " pretended 
judges," which he always did. 

Bonner told Sir Thomas Smith, that " as Sec- 
retary of State and Privy-Councillor he honored 
him ; but, as Sir Thomas Smith, he did not hes- 
itate to tell him he lied, and to defy him." 

At this the Archbishop told him, that '' such 
language was inexcusable, and he deserved to be 
sent to prison for using it." 

Bonner scoffingly rephed, "that he did not 
care where they sent him, so they sent him not to 
the devil ; for thither he would not go. He had 
a few goods, a poor carcass, and a soul ; the two 
former were in their power, but the last was his 



own." 



After a long and minute trial, Bonner was com- 
mitted to prison. ' His trial is given at length in 
the '' State Trials." 

We come now to an event that caused the 
young King and Cranmer much anguish. It be- 
came evident that the Protector had many ene- 
mies. The Earl of Warwick, who had been 
raised by the favor of Somerset, was made an in- 
strument in the hands of the Earl of Southampton 
for exciting great complaints against him ; that 
the Protector had begun to build a noble palace 
in the Strand, " out of the ruins of bishops' 
houses ; and that, while the kingdom was en- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 209 

gaged in expensive wars, and London infected 
with the plague, he was bringing architects from 
Italy, and designing such a palace as had not 
been seen in England." These, and many other 
accusations, were brought against him by the no- 
bles, in whose hands was all power. His ene- 
mies rapidly increased, and Cranmer, with Paget 
and Secretary Smith, alone stood his friends. 

It was now, that the friends of his unfortunate 
brother took the opportunity to wreak their re- 
venge. It is sad, that so heavy a charge as sign- 
ing the death-warrant could be laid to him ; and 
it was one that he could not gainsay. The Pro- 
tector was with the King at this time, and of this 
circumstance they made a handle, protesting that 
he meant to get his person into custody. 

There is little doubt that the Protector might 
have had the support of the people, had he called 
for it, and raised a numerous army. But, when 
he saw the nobles and Council all against him, 
with the exception of Cranmer and Paget, he 
submitted at once, and only stipulated for gentle 
treatment. He was, however, sent to the Tower, 
with Cecil. He confessed, while there, the arti- 
cles charged against him, but imputed his miscon- 
duct to folly and indiscretion, and not to any bad 
intentions. The Parliament deprived him of all 
his offices, and fined him two thousand pounds a 
year. The King does not appear to have taken 
14 



210 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

any part in his disgrace ; on the contrary, he im- 
mediately remitted the fine. 

Somerset bore his fall so meekly, that he seems 
to have mollified his most powerful enemy, the 
Earl of Warwick. He readmitted him to the 
Council, and even agreed to an alliance be- 
tween his son and a daughter of Somerset's. 

Warwick procured to himself a grant of lands 
which lay in the north, and was dignified with the 
title of Duke of Northumberland. It might have 
been supposed, that the alliance which had taken 
place between his son and Somerset's daughter 
might have secured his friendship. He could 
not, however, pardon him the favor he still en- 
joyed with the people, and the fondness the King 
cherished for him. He placed spies about him, 
and had him arrested for treason and felony. Of 
treason, he was fully acquitted ; but was con- 
demned for felony, on the score of idle words he 
had spoken. The people hearing the first part 
of the sentence of acquittal, expressed their joy 
by loud acclamations ; but a general groan was 
heard when they found he was condemned for 
felony. 

During this time the King was kept in igno- 
rance of the state of things ; those who would 
have informed him were not allowed to have ac- 
cess to him, and a constant course of amusements 
was devised for him. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 211 

At the place of execution, Sir Anthony Brown 
was seen hastily riding towards the scaffold. It 
was supposed he had come with a pardon from 
the King, which had all along been expected by 
the people, "and therefore with great rejoicing 
and casting up of caps, they cried out, ' Pardon, 
pardon is come ! God save the King ! ' " 

" Thus this good Duke," continues the narra- 
tor, " although he was destitute of all men's help, 
yet he saw, before his departure, in how great 
love and favor he was with all men. And truly, 
I do not think in so great slaughter of Dukes as 
there has been in England within this few years, 
there were so many eyes weeping at the same 
time." 

The Duke made a sign to the people to be 
quiet, and then, in a resigned but cheerful voice, 
addressed them, closing his address with beseech- 
ing them to keep quiet and still, lest, through their 
tumult, they might trouble him ; for, "albeit the 
spirit be willing and ready, the flesh is frail and 
wavering." 

He prepared for the stroke of the executioner 
with much calmness, untying his neckcloth and 
laying his head upon the block, calling thrice up- 
on the name of Jesus, " Lord Jesus, save me ! " 
The third time, the sentence was left unfinished, 
— the axe fell ! 

The people rushed forward and dipped their 



212 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

handkerchiefs in his blood, and preserved them as 
relics. Whatever were his faults, he fell a sac- 
rifice to the ambition of his rival, Northumber- 
land. 

After Bonner was committed to the Tower 
and deprived of his See, Ridley succeeded him 
as Bishop of London. His conduct towards the 
dependants of Bonner was truly amiable. As he 
took possession of the same house, he was ex- 
tremely careful not to do the least injury to his 
predecessor's goods. He even paid wages to the 
servants that were in arrears. He treated the 
mother, Mrs. Bonner, with the greatest respect, 
and welcomed her to the upper seat at his table, 
as if she had been his own mother, saying, when 
he had guests, " By your Lordships' favor, this 
place of right and custom is for my mother Bon- 
ner." 

The young King was now transferred to Nor- 
thumberland, who succeeded Somerset in all his 
honors, but his health was visibly declining. In 
his journal we find an entry of his having the 
small-pox and measles, disorders often fatal to 
feeble constitutions. Still, however, he continu- 
ed his studies, writing perhaps much more than 
was for the good of his health, as has been proved 
by the many manuscripts he left in his own hand, 
and which are entitled, " King Edward's Re- 
mains." 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 213 

From the time of Somerset's death, his heahh 
had drooped, and this gave rise to many idle re- 
ports of slow poison being administered by the 
ambitious Northumberland. But the Archbishop, 
who was more interested than any one in the 
King, and had no love to the Duke, whom he 
considered the cause of Somerset's death, gave 
no heed to them. He had too long seen the 
seeds of decay in the constitution of Edward, 
and felt that the power of God alone could stay 
it. Northumberland took much pains to with- 
draw the King from the immediate influence of 
the Archbishop, and, under pretence of change 
of air, rem.oved him from place to place. Ed- 
ward alludes to this in his journal, but makes no 
personal remarks upon Northumberland. We 
also find that the celebrated John Knox, the 
itinerant Scotch preacher, was appointed chaplain 
to Edward. Probably his vehement and power- 
ful style of oratory had won upon the devotional 
feelings of the young King. He was ofl^ered a 
bishopric, but declined it peremptorily, and de- 
clared himself entirely opposed to the Liturgy and 
estabhshed form of episcopacy. 

As the journal of the King is merely a relation 
of facts, it may only serve as an evidence of his 
industry and modesty, for no mention is ever 
made of honor paid to himself. For written 



214 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

proofs of the extraordinary maturity of his mind, 
we must look among what is called his " Re- 
mains." Some of these are to be found in the 
Appendix to Strype's " Memorials of Cranmer," 
and others in Burnet's Documents. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 215 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The most remarkable performance of the 
King, in his own handwriting, is, '' A Discourse 
about many Abuses." From this we shall select 
a few passages. The first part is upon the eccle- 
siastical government of the realm. The second, 
upon the " Temporal Regiment." 

" The temporal regiment consisteth in well- 
ordering, enriching, and defending the whole body 
politic of the commonwealth, and every part of 
the whole, to one part not the other. The ex- 
ample whereof may be best taken of a man's 
body ; for even as the arm defendeth, helpeth, 
and aideth the whole body, chiefly the head, so 
ought servingmen and gentlemen chiefly, and such 
like kind of people, be always ready in defence 
of their country." 

He then goes on with the comparison, and 
makes out the analogy with great exactness. 

" Furthermore, no member in a well-fashioned 
and whole body, is too big for the proportion of 
the body, so must there be in a well-ordered 
commonwealth, no person that shall have more 



216 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

than the proportion the country will bear ; so it 
is hurtful immediately to enrich any one part." 

He then goes on to show, that " every man 
ought to labor in his vocation to support the body, 
and to see that order, moderation, and reason bri- 
dle the affections." 

He speaks of the abuses which have taken 
place. 

" The artificers work falsely ; the clothiers 
use deceit in cloth ; the masons in building ; the 
clockmakers in their clocks ; the joiner in his 
working of timber, &c. ; all others almost, to the 
intent they would have them oftener come to 
them for amending their things." 

" The grazier, the farmer, the merchant, be- 
come landed men and call themselves gentlemen, 
though they be churls ; yea, the farmer will have 
ten farms, some twenty, and will be a pedler- 
merchant." 

Then comes a record of various abuses. After 
speaking of those that forestall the market, he 
says ; 

" What shall I say of those that buy and sell 
offices of trust, that impropriate benefices, that 
destroy timber ; that, not considering the sustain- 
ing of them in their barn, turn till-ground to 
pasture ; that use excess in apparel, in diet, and 
in building of inclosures of wastes and commons ; 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 217 

of those that cast false and seditious bills ; but 
that the thing is so tedious, long, and lamentable, 
that I am weary to go any further in the particu- 
lars ; wherefore I will cease, having told the 
worst, because the best will save itself." 

An enumeration then follows of the various 
causes of dissatisfaction which he has before men- 
tioned. 

" These sores must be cured with these medi- 
cines or plaisters : 1 . Good Education. 2. De- 
vising of good laws. 3. Executing the laws 
justly, without respect of persons. 4. Example 
of rulers. 5. Punishing of vagabonds and idle 
persons, 6. Encouraging the good. 7. Order- 
ing well the customers. 8. Engendering friend- 
ship in all parts of the Commonweahh. These 
be the chief points that tend to order well the 
whole Commonwealth. 

" And for the first (good education), as it is 
in order first, so it seemeth to be in dignity and 
degree ; for Horace saith very wisely, 

« Q,uo semel est imbuta recens, servabit odorem 
Testa diu.' 

With whatsoever thing the new vessel is im- 
bued, it will long keep the savour, saith Horace ; 
meaning, that for the most part, men be as they 
be brought up. Wherefore, seeing that it seem- 
eth so necessary a thing, we will shew our device 
herein. Youth must be brought up, some in 



218 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

husbandry, some in working, graving, gilding, 
joining, printing, making of clothes, even from 
their most tender age, to the end that they may 
not, when they come to man's estate, loiter as 
they do now-a-days, and neglect, but think their 
travail sweet and honest." 

"Nevertheless, when all these laws be made, 
established, and enacted, they serve to no pur- 
pose, except they be fully and duly executed. 
By whom ? By those that have authority to ex- 
ecute ; that is to say, the Noblemen and Justices 
of Peace. Wherefore, I would wish, that after 
this Parliament were ended, those Noblemen, 
except a few that should be with me, went to 
their counties, and there should see the statutes 
fully and duly executed, and that those men 
should be put from being Justices of Peace, that 
be touched or blotted with those vices that be 
against these new laws to be established ; for no 
man that is in fault himself can punish another for 
the same offence. 

' Turpe est doctori, cum culpa redarguit ipsum.' 

The justices being put out, the laws will be exe- 
cuted — ." Desunt ccetera. 

Edward, Hke other Kings, had his favorite, 
Baralse Fitz Patrick. He was a boy near his own 
age, and Burnet says, his whipping-boy, " who 
(according to the rule of educating our Princes,) 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 219 

was always to be whipped for the King's faults." 
Edward was of too gentle and just a nature to 
approve of this mode of tuition. He early form- 
ed an attachment to him, and sent him to France 
tb be educated. While he was there, the young 
King wrote to him constantly, giving him counsel 
and advice. In one of his letters he writes, that 
" he must not think to live like an ambassador, 
but like a private gentleman, whose fortunes were 
to be gradually advanced as he deserved." He 
allowed him four servants, and charged him " to 
devote his time to useful observation ; to associ- 
ate with gentlemen, rather than ladies ; to be sim- 
ple in his apparel ; to observe well the conduct 
of armies, and the fortification of strong places ; 
to note what was observable and praiseworthy in 
the customs and manners of the nation, and what 
might profit his own country on his return." He 
also desired him '' to let him know when he need- 
ed money, and he would supply him." 

All these directions, and many others, the King 
wrote with his own hand ; and, when the young 
man returned, to let him see that he meant to ad- 
minister to no superfluous wants or useless luxu- 
ries, gave him only a pension of one hundred and 
fifty pounds ; a small allowance for the favorite 
of a King. 

That Edward chose his favorites for the virtues 
of simplicity, integrity, and correctness, the future 



220 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

life of Fitz Patrick proved. When deprived of 
his royal friend, he devoted himself to study and 
the arts, always making it his great object to jus- 
tify by his good conduct the early prepossessions 
of the King. 

Edward had written to, and received many let- 
ters from, his rebellious sister Mary, who had 
persisted in observing the Catholic forms. These 
letters show mutual good will ; but Edward's 
unite such a fervent zeal for the reformed religion, 
with so much brotherly regard, that we see the 
inward struggle of his mind. As a king, he con- 
jures her not to set an ill example to the sub- 
jects of the realm ; as a brother, not to oblige 
him to proceed to extremities ; and calls upon her, 
as an elder sister, to aid him in his duty. He 
endeavoured by argument to convince her of her 
errors ; and "talked so learnedly on the subject 
with her Bishops, that they were amazed, he 
bringing texts of Scripture to support his argu- 
ments, and showing an accurate and thorough ac- 
quaintance with the Bible." 

The tenderness and compassion of his nature 
were traits that he particularly inherited from his 
mother, and were what gave rise to the observa- 
tion, that one " phoenix had risen from the ashes 
of another." 

The great opposition he made to taking away 
the life of heretics was a matter of religion as 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 221 

well as mercy. When urged by Cranmer to sign 
the warrant for Joan of Kent's death, the only 
argument which finally prevailed with him was, 
that the responsibility would fall upon the Arch- 
bishop. No doubt this idea operated in soothing 
his distress. He constantly asked, " if heresy 
were so great a crime, how he could answer it to 
his conscience to send her into the presence of 
her Maker with the crime unrepented of." Cran- 
mer said, " he would be answerable " ; and this, 
probably, was a double relief to Edward, both for 
Joan and himself. Joan's guilt was in no way 
aggravated by her execution. If to go thus un- 
prepared into the presence of her Maker was an 
added sin, it was the sin of those who sent her ; 
and Cranmer had said, it should be his ! 

It cannot be doubted that the Archbishop acted 
conscientiously, with the erroneous and bigoted 
views of the time. No motive but zeal for the 
truth could have influenced him, and his earnest 
desire to make her renounce her heresy is con- 
sistent with the benevolence of his character. 

A striking trait in Edward was his punctuality. 
He was as careful of other people's time as of 
his own. He considered time as equally the 
property of all ; he had no more right to squander 
his poorest subject's than his own. In his journal 
he discovers the strictest care to pay small, as 
well as large debts, knowing that a Prince's credit 



222 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

is even more important than that of private indi- 
viduals. 

Such a character as Edward's could not be 
misunderstood, even at that period, though he 
v^^as, in all moral endowments, in advance of the 
time. Much pains were taken to keep him igno- 
rant of events that were passing, particularly the 
details of Somerset's trial.* Cranmer might have 
been said to look upon him with reverence, as well 
as love. He one day took his preceptor, Dr. 
Chek, by the hand, and told him he ''had reason, 
all the days of his life, to rejoice that God had 
given him such a pupil." His " report of the 
King's towardliness to the Archbishop" is copied 
from the " Memorials of Fox." 

The nation considered him as one raised up by 

* One of the circumstances that diverted Edward's 
mind from the fate of his uncle, was the presence of a 
royal visitor, about the time Somerset was accused. He 
gives an account in his journal of the arrival of the 
Queen Dowager of Scotland. She had been to France, 
to convey her unfortunate daughter Mary, and, on her 
return, put in at Portsmouth. At the request of Henry 
of France, she obtained permission to continue her jour- 
ney by land. Edward could feel no great complacency 
towards her ; but he performed the duties of hospitality 
with his native courtesy. " Her lodging," Edward writes 
in his journal, "was all hanged with arras, and so was 
the hall and all the other lodgings of mine house at 
Southampton very finely dressed ; and for this night and 
the next day, all was spent in dancing and pastime, as 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 223 

God for extraordinary purposes ; but these were 
not to be accomplished on earth. To many 
minds, the strongest evidence of another life is 
afforded by the promise of excellence early sum- 
moned hence. The employments of the blessed 
are more clearly brought to view, and the charac- 
ter of that heaven designated, to which they are 
called. Few who understand the power of in- 
tellect and virtue, and comprehend the deathless 
evidence they give of future progression, can, for 
a moment believe, that this existence is the end 
of life. 

Northumberland seems to have effectually 
spread his toils around the King. The nation 
murmured, that one, whom they did not love, 

though it were a court, and great presence of gentlemen 
resorted there." 

She was then conducted to Westminster by a large 
number of lords and ladies. " The court, the hall, and 
the stairs," continues Edward in his journal, " were full 
of serving men ; tha Presence Chamber, the Great Cham- 
ber, and her Presence Chamber, full of gentlemen. And, 
so having brought her to her chamber, I retired to mine. 
I went to her at dinner ; she dined under the same cloth 
of state at my right hand ; at her rere-ward dined my 
cousin Frances and my cousin Margaret. At mine, sat 
the French ambassador. We were served by two servi- 
ces, two sewers, two cupbearers, carvers, and gentlemen. 
Her Master-Hostel came before her service, and my offi- 
cers before mine. There were two cupboards, one of 
gold, four stages high, and another of massy silver, six 



224 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

should have their most precious jewel in his keep- 
ing. Edward seems to have acquiesced in every 
journey, or " progress," as such excursions are 
often styled. His cousin. Lady Jane Gray, was 
frequently his companion. She was the wife of 
Lord Dudley, the son of Northumberland, and 
daughter of Suffolk. The beauty and graces of 
her Christian character are well known, and Ed- 
ward found comfort and strength in her conversa- 
tion. Others were placed about him by the arbi- 
trary Duke, that were less congenial to his charac- 
ter ; and those, who were excluded or dismissed, 
did not hesitate secretly to disseminate suspicions 
that the Earl harboured designs against the life of 
the King. 

stages high. [It is presumed shelves are meant.] In her 
great chamber dined at three boards the ladies only. Af- 
ter dinner, when she had heard some music, I brought her 
to the hall, and so she went away." 

The King mentions sending her a diamond ring as a 
present, before her departure. We must remember, that 
it is from a youth of fifteen we have these simple narra- 
tions. 

This Queen was the eldest sister of Henry the Eighth 
of England. He does not mention her or her heirs under 
any circumstances, as successors to the throne ; but, after 
his death, Mary, who was then married to the Dauphin 
Francis the Second, laid claim to the crown, instigated by 
her uncles, the Guises. This claim cost her her liberty 
and life in succeeding years. See Robertson's " History 
of Scotland." 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 225 

But a more invincible enemy than Northumber- 
land was attacking the vital powers of Edward. 
Of this there were fearful indications in the almost 
supernatural brightness of his eye, the hectic of 
his cheek, and his short and rapid manner of 
breathing. Yet at times he seemed to cast off 
all debility, and his spirit, hghtened of its load, 
gave deceptive promises of health. Sometimes 
the princely boy would spring from his couch, and 
gaze on the fair realm around him with a sanguine 
feeling, that he should yet live to govern it. 

And could there not be found one in all this 
wide dqmain to rescue its youthful monarch from 
an early grave ? Where were the united claims 
of Lancaster and York ^ Where the nobles of 
the land ? The Parliament, too, who found it so 
easy to sign a warrant of death, could they not sign 
one of life ? Of all the flatterers, who had sur- 
rounded him, and who had cried " God save the 
King ! " was there none to avert the blow ? Sey- 
mour and Somerset had contended for his favor, 
and, ere the struggle was ended, had trod the dark 
valley of death. Northumberland was yet bow- 
ing the knee, and successfully excluding from the 
royal presence all rivals. But there was one en- 
emy more powerful, more vigilant than the Earl ; 
one, whose icy hand was outstretched, and who 
laughed to scorn all human efforts. To him the 
bribes of countless wealth were nothing. Slowly 
15 



226 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

and noiselessly he came, but not so stealthily as 
to deceive Edward. He saw his approach with 
an undaunted eye, for he knew that death could 
only open the portals to immortal life ; and, be- 
yond, he beheld '' flowery vales and dewy 
meads," inviting his '' fainting steps." 

Cranmer sometimes was summoned to him, and 
then he left all his occupations to sit by the side 
of the beloved one, to hold his emaciated hand, 
and wipe the cold dew from his forehead. It 
was on one of these occasions, that Edward spoke 
much of the welfare of the realm, and expressed 
his fears that the Catholic religion would be re- 
vived under the succession of Mary. 

The entrance of Northumberland interrupted 
the conversation ; (indeed, the Archbishop was 
seldom suffered to be alone with him ;) he was 
accompanied by Lord Darcy. Edward, how- 
ever, resumed it, and said to the Archbishop, 
that he " thought it his duty to secure the suc- 
cession of the crown to one who would promote 
the cause of true religion." 

Cranmer immediately replied, that he " knew 
not how the succession of Mary could be set 
aside, and Elizabeth preferred." 

"Neither do I," said Edward. 

Northumberland hurried the Archbishop away, 
on pretence of the King's being fatigued. The 
subject, however, was soon taken up again, and 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 227 

Cranmer found that Lady Jane Gray, in right of 
her mother, the Duchess of Suffolk, was to be 
the successor to the throne. The Archbishop 
warmly opposed this determination of the King, 
and requested leave to argue with him alone, 
which Northumberland refused, probably knowing 
that Cranmer might turn the scales against him. 
" Truly, my Lord of Canterbury," said he arro- 
gantly in the Council Chamber, "it does not be- 
come you to speak to the King as if he were yet 
a child, and dissuade him from his will." 

The Archbishop argued with the Council the 
entailing of the crown by King Henry the Eighth, 
and earnestly declared, that he could not sign an 
act which was contrary to his will and would ren- 
der his daughter illegitimate. 

The Council replied, " that it was the opinion 
of the judges and the King's learned counsel in 
the law, that that entailing had nothing to do with 
the present King ; that he, ' being in possession 
of the crown, had the same right, as his father, of 
disposing of it as he thought best for the realm, 
and to convey it, if he so pleased, to Lady Jane 
Gray by deed.' " 

The Archbishop said, ''this seemed most 
strange to him ; yet, considering it was the judg- 
ment of the lawyers, and he himself wholly un- 
learned in the law, he thought it not seemly to 
oppose this matter further ; but, for his own part, 



228 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

as his conscience was against the matter, he must 
decline signing.''^ 

Who, that has followed the Archbishop through 
his hfe, will not tremble for his firmness ? Who 
will not already see his hand grasp the pen, and 
his name affixed to the deed. 

The Council, however, and the chief judges, 
proceeded to set their names to the letters patent, 
in deed of the King. And when they had all 
done it, they sent for Cranmer, who had absented 
himself, and required him to sign. 

The Archbishop answered, that he ''might not 
do it without perjury ; for he had sworn to King 
Henry's will, acknowledging the Lady Mary as 
Edward's successor." 

" The Council rephed, that " they had con- 
sciences as well as he, and had also sworn to 
Henry's will." 

The Archbishop answered, "I am no judge 
over any man's conscience, but mine own only ; 
for, as I will not condemn your fact, no more will 
I stay my fact upon your conscience, seeing that 
every man shall answer to God for his own deeds, 
and not for other men's." 

They still pressed him with further argument 
and persuasion, representing the distressed state 
of the realm, and the subversion of all true reli- 
gion, upon the accession of a Popish Queen. 
They probably saw the gradual yielding of his 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 229 

mind ; for, when he desired to speak with the 
King alone, Northumberland consented. 

He found Edward reclining on his couch, his 
books near him, and his lute, upon which he ex- 
celled, laying by his side. He could no longer 
touch it with a master's hand ! When the Arch- 
bishop entered, he arose and received him with 
his wonted affection, spoke calmly of his ap- 
proaching end, and then immediately recurred to 
the subject nearest his heart, — the succession of 
his cousin Jane. 

" I have not proceeded rashly in this matter," 
said Edward ; " I have consulted the most learn- 
ed judges, and they inform me, that I may lawful- 
ly bequeath the crown to the Lady Jane." 

The Archbishop replied, as he had done to the 
Council, " that few men could be more ignorant 
in matters of law than he was ; that he knew 
what his own conscience demanded, and, because 
he had taken the oath of succession to his father, 
he had refused to sign." 

Edward replied, " that his father had no doubt 
done what seemed to him best at the time ; that 
probably he had not anticipated the period which 
was near, and could not foresee that the realm 
would be again subjected to the Roman Cathohc 
religion ; that, in the natural course of years, his 
own Hfe would have greatly exceeded either of 
his sisters, whom he tenderly loved." He spoke 



230 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

of the friends, whom God had given him, with 
much sweetness, and of the paternal affection that 
the Archbishop had always shown him, and " Can 
it be," said he with animation, '' that you will op- 
pose my wishes when all the rest of the Council 
yield to them ? " 

The Archbishop's tears flowed as the young 
King spoke, and, at the last appeal, he seemed 
wholly overcome ; for, as he wrote afterwards to 
Queen Mary, " he was sorely grieved, out of the 
dear love he bore the King," and so, remember- 
ing the assurances of the King's attorney and 
judges, and of all the Council, he at last set his 
hand. 

It cannot but occur to every one, that Nor- 
thumberland and his emissaries had exerted undue 
influence over the mind of Edward in his feeble 
and declining state, that they had used the Ref- 
ormation as the agent of their ambitious schemes. 
The Archbishop was not allowed to be with him, 
or he would have counteracted the influence they 
were exercising, as nothing could be plainer than 
that Mary and Elizabeth were the rightful succes- 
sors to the crown. 

It must have cost Cranmer much anguish to be 
separated so entirely from his god-son, with whom 
he had enjoyed for so many years such constant 
intercourse. It has been suggested that Edward's 
affections were in some degree weaned from him ; 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 231 

but this is merely conjecture, and it is not neces- 
sary to resort to it. The constant changes of his 
residence effected by Northumberland, the King's 
own illness, and the anxiety he felt about the 
realm, might have fully occupied him. Cranmer, 
too, from his high office was necessarily at his 
different residences. 

The last days of Edward were such as might 
be expected from his innocent and kindly life. 
His strength gradually declined, and, finally, the 
physicians seeming to be discouraged, and say- 
ing they could do nothing more for him, a wo- 
man, who had acquired reputation by some suc- 
cessful cures, was allowed to prescribe for him ; 
but, he growing worse, she was dismissed, and 
the physicians were recalled. 

As the time of his death drew near, his eyes 
being closed, he thought no one was by him, and 
he made the following prayer. 

" ' Lord God, deliver me out of this miserable 
and wretched life, and take me among thy chosen. 
Howbeit, not my will, but thy will be done. 
Lord, I commit my spirit to Thee. O Lord, 
Thou knowest how happy it were for me to be 
with Thee ; yet, for thy chosen's sake, send me 
life and health, that I may truly serve. O my 
Lord God, bless thy people, and save thine 
inheritance. O Lord God, save thy chosen 
people of England. O my Lord God, defend 



232 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

this realm from Papistry, and maintain Thy true 
religion, that I and my people may praise Thy 
holy name, for Thy Son Jesus Christ's sake.' 

" Then, turning his face, and seeing who was 
by him, he sayd unto him, ' Are ye so nigh ? 
I thought yee had been further off. ' 

" Then the doctor sayd, ' We heard you speake 
to yourself.' 

'' So, then, after his fashion smiling, he sayd, 
'I was praying to God.' 

" The last words he uttered were, ' I am 
faint. Lord, have mercie upon me, and take my 

spirit.'"* 

__ 

* Copied from Fox's " Memorials," who was contem- 
porary. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 233 



CHAPTER XVII. 

As Northumberland determined to put matters 
in train for executing the will of Edward, before 
his death was announced, he endeavoured to keep 
it secret. Another motive, too, operated with 
him. Mary had been requested to hasten to her 
brother in his last sickness, and it was the Duke's 
desire, that she might arrive before she knew of 
his death, and by that means fall unconsciously 
into his power. The Earl of Arundel, however, 
who was a fast friend to Mary, secretly wrote to 
her and informed her of the event, and advised 
her to keep out of the way of Northumberland. 
Mary immediately repaired to Norfolk, where she 
knew the Duke was much hated, and from there 
wrote to the Council, that it was most strange that 
they had not informed her of Edward's death, as 
she was the rightful successor to the throne. 

Northumberland, now seeing there were no 
measures to keep, entered at once upon his own 
plans. He immediately repaired to Durham, the 
residence of the Lady Jane. When he entered, 
he hailed her, with much parade of courtesy, as 



234 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

Queen of England, informing her, that such was 
the last will and testament of her royal cousin. 

Jane's attachment to Edward had been fervent 
and sincere. She was several years older than 
he, and had been able to assist him in many of 
his studies. Her excellent tutor, Dr. Elmer, 
seeing the capacity of her mind, and her disposi- 
tion to learning, had willingly yielded to her de- 
sire @f making herself mistress of the dead lan- 
guages. Though surrounded by gay amusements, 
she devoted the early part of the day to study ; 
and, it is well known, that when Roger Ascharn, 
the tutor of Elizabeth, once called to see her, he 
found her reading the " Phaedon " of Plato, while 
all her friends and family were amusing themselves 
with hunting in the Park, and other sports. 

" How comes it, my Lady," said he, " that 
you thus seclude yourself from the pleasures that 
the others are enjoying." 

"I have tried them all," said she pleasantly, 
" and I find them shadows of enjoyment, and 
this my reality ; " — laying her hand on the book. 

'' And yet it is rare, for one so young, to love 
learning better than innocent sport," replied he. 

" I have had peculiar blessings," said she 
smiling; "my parents considered it a duty to 
bring me up with much discipline ; and I found 
more indulgence from my tutor than from them. 
Often, when I neglected to observe some of the 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 235 

formalities their high rank enjoined, they angrily 
sent me from their presence, and I took refuge 
with Dr. Elmer. Ah, Sir, it has been a great 
blessing to me that I have had sharp parents and a 
gentle schoolmaster ! " 

She had studied the Scriptures with great at- 
tention, and was able to point out to her young 
cousin Edward, what were practical parts, and 
what doctrines. The example and society of 
Jane had done much towards forming his charac- 
ter ; and it is not strange, that he earnestly wish- 
ed, that she, who would rule so virtuously, might 
be the inheritor of his crown. In sickness, and 
especially the undermining and gradual inroad of 
consumption, one idea often clings pertinaciously 
to the mind. Edward saw only the good of this 
arrangement ; the evil was carefully concealed 
from him, and he cherished it with a tenacity that 
bordered on monomania. 

It may well be supposed, that, with such studi- 
ous habits, and a disposition humble and retired, 
Jane heard the announcement of her succession 
with no emotions of delight. But, for a time, all 
was forgotten in her sorrow for Edward's death. 
He had sent her little testimonies of his affection, 
— the books they had read together, the writing- 
desk, and even the last pen, he had used ; and, 
to the astonishment of Northumberland, these 
remembrances occupied her heart, and not the 



236 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

jewelled crown of the Saxon race. He thought 
proper, however, to recall her wandering thoughts 
with some severity. 

" Alas ! my Lord," said she, " how can I as- 
cend the throne but as a usurper. By the laws 
of Henry the Eighth, by the laws of the king- 
dom, and by natural right, the crown must go to 
the King's sisters. Spare me the burden such 
an assumption would bring upon my conscience. 
I cannot consent to enrich myself by the spoils 
of others." 

" This is a measure that has been long dis- 
cussed," replied the Earl, '* and only decided on 
for the good of the nation and the saving of inno- 
cent blood." 

Jane clasped her hands with energy, and ex- 
claimed prophetically, '' See you not, that this 
usurpation will be washed out in rivers of your 
own blood ? " 

" It becomes us not," said the Earl, " to op- 
pose the will of the pious and gentle Edward, 
who might well have acted from inspiration." 

'' The inspiration of men ! " said Jane, in a 
low and solemn voice. 

'^ The judges and counsellors," resumed Nor- 
thumberland, " have set their hands to it, even 
Cranmer, the sturdy Archbishop. Dudley, my 
son, unite with me to persuade your wife to ac- 
cept of a kingdom bequeathed to her." 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 237 

Dudley, who had the ambition of his father, 
joined his importunities. 

" Be it so," said Jane, weeping ; '' and God 
grant there may be but one victim in the cause." 

" This is an ungracious acceptance, my gentle 
wife," said Dudley ; " but, for the present, we 
must be contented with it. But, believe me, 
love, a diadem will receive more honor than it 
confers when placed upon your brow." 

How pleasant is the language of flattery, 
whispered from the lips of those Vv^ho are dear. 
Smiles mingled with Jane's tears, and she tried 
to feel happy. 

The day following, Jane was conducted to the 
Tower, with pale cheeks and streaming eyes ; 
her train was borne by her mother. The Lord 
Treasurer presented her the crown, and the city 
of London rang with the shouts of her proclama- 
tion. " Long live Queen Jane ! " was echoed 
and re-echoed again and again ; and Northumber- 
land triumphed. 

It was remarked, however, at the time, that 
there was not much heart in these acclamations. 
Mary was considered the natural heir to the 
throne ; and, though they feared her bigotry, they 
were not satisfied with the measures which set 
her claims aside. Northumberland, too, was 
thoroughly odious to the people who looked on 
him as the murderer of Somerset, and even en- 



238 '•CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

tertained suspicions, which his present conduct 
tended to confirm, that he had, in some way, 
contributed to the death of the King. 

Mary, in the mean time, caused her title to be 
proclaimed in Norfolk, and many flocked to her 
banner. News of her success was continually 
arriving, and Northumberland saw that it was ne- 
cessary to endeavour to quell what he styled re- 
bellion to the royal will. It was proper that some 
one should take command of the forces. There 
was no one but Suffolk, the father of Lady Jane, 
om whose fidelity Norfolk could rely, and he was 
a man without energy or military skill. The only 
measure, therigrpre, that Northumberland could 
adopt, was to send Jane to the Tower, under the 
safe keeping of her father, and himself take the 
command of the forces. 

He requested Ridley and some other preach- 
ers, to appeal to the religious feelings of the peo- 
ple from the pulpit. Ridley did it in an able 
manner, contrasting the characters of the present 
competitors, the gentleness and piety of the one, 
with the haughtiness, bigotry, and Popish creed 
of the other. But his eloquence produced only 
a temporary effect. 

When the Council found that all England 
were turning against them, they concerted togeth- 
er what would be the safest way for them to turn, 
and sent orders to the Tower for the Duke of 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 239 

Suffolk to give up the place, acknowledge Mary 
as Queen, and for Jane to lay down her assumed 
title. Suffolk submitted at once, and Jane de- 
clared most truly, that she " laid down the title 
with more pleasure than she took it up." 

Northumberland retreated to Cambridge, in 
hopes of V new recruits ; but, hearing that things 
were going against him, he dismissed his forces 
and went to the market-place, and there, flinging 
up his hat, he shouted with the rabble, " God 
save Queen Mary." This, however, did not 
save him ; he was immediately arrested and sent 
to the Tower. 

Jane had retired to Sion-House after nine days 
of pretended royalty, but actual misery. Her 
husband, whose ambition had grown with his 
wife's honors, had insisted on being made king ; 
and she saw nothing before her but domestic dis- 
sensions, and the destruction of her conjugal hap- 
piness. 

Elizabeth had taken no part in this affair, but 
conducted herself with the wisdom which always 
distinguished her. Northumberland sent to her 
to offer her a large grant of lands in the beginning, 
if she would renounce all pretensions to the suc- 
cession. She replied, that she had "nothing to 
renounce as long as her elder sister was living." 

When Mary's cause prevailed, Elizabeth met 
her with a numerous retinue. They rode through 



240 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

the Streets of the city together, on well-trained 
palfreys, that pranced and curvetted, as if proud 
of their burdens. All the shops were dressed in 
their gayest attire, houses thrown open, balco- 
nies filled, and the different crafts arranged to the 
greatest advantage. Many remembered Henry 
in his youth, then remarkable for his majestic 
bearing ; but they could trace no resemblance in 
the Queen. Neither could they perceive any 
traces of Catharine of Aragon, who, though not 
handsome, was graceful and commanding. Mary 
was small, with keen black eyes, and a counte- 
nance on which disappointment and restless anxi- 
ety had imprinted deep lines. She was no longer 
young, and time had not dealt gently with her. 
Elizabeth rode by her side, and, perhaps, appear- 
ed to more advantage than she had ever done be- 
fore. She had the charm of youth, which never 
fails to lend a real or imaginary grace. Her eyes 
were said to be good, but neither of the royal sis- 
ters could boast of beauty. 

What is the tribute of the populace ? The 
same voices that cried " God save Queen Jane ! " 
a few days before, now shouted for Queen Mary. 
Young and old joined in the general acclamation. 
When they entered the Tower, they found in 
waiting prisoners of the preceding reign. They 
knelt to Mary. She bade them rise, kissed them, 
and said henceforth they were her prisoners. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 241 

Among these were the Duke of Norfolk, the 
Duchess of Somerset (who had been confined in 
the Tower since, the execution of her husband), 
and Gardiner, the Ex-Bishop of Winchester. 
" The same day, she ordered a dole of eight 
pence to be distributed to every poor household- 
er in the cits>y." 

During Edward's reign, great simphcity of ap- 
parel had been* -adopted. Ladies of the highest 
rank wore no jewelry or costly ornaments, but 
something approaching Puritanism had been adopt- 
ed by the reformers, in opposition to the gorgeous 
pageantry of Popish customs. Mary's taste led 
her to a gay and diversified apparel ; and this, 
which is always in unison with the taste of the 
lower classes, was quickly imitated. 

One of the first acts of Parliament was, to 
cause the marriage of Queen Catharine to Henry 
to be declared lawful. Gardiner, who had been 
so instrumental in procuring the divorce, was now 
equally active in removing it, and attributed the 
divorce wholly to Cranmer. Northumberland^ 
with two of the conspirators against the succes- 
sion of Mary, were executed ; but her vengeance 
as yet slept for others. 

The Queen soon demonstrated, that, whatever 
promises she had given her subjects, the Cathohc 
form was to be adopted by the nation. She ac- 
quainted both the Emperor of Germany, her 
16 



242 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

cousin, and the King of France, with her deter- 
mination to restore the Catholic worship. Hen-, 
ry applauded her zeal, but Charles advised her to 
proceed with caution ; and she so far regarded 
his advice, as to suffer the funeral of Edward to 
be performed according to the Protestant faith, in 
Westminster Abbey ; but she herself had high 
mass said at the same time in the chapel of the 
Tower. 

Hitherto, Cranmerhad taken no part in the pro- 
ceedings. Well might he be disgusted with pub- 
lic life. It was now his wish to live as retired as 
possible, and to promote, as far as in him lay, the 
cause of the reformed religion. But dark clouds 
hung over the future. In the midst of the gloom 
and despondency of his mind, he was roused to ac- 
tion by a report generally circulated, that he had 
offered to perform the mass at King Edward's 
funeral, and had restored that, and other Roman 
Catholic services, at his church in Canterbury. 

The Archbishop, for once, seems to have lost 
his self-command, and resented this slander in 
strong and bitter language. He said, in his ab- 
sence mass was performed by a false, lying, flat- 
tering monk. Dr. Thornden, whom he had raised 
from poverty, and admitted to his table. 

He resolved to do something in a public man- 
ner to put down this report, and wrote an article, 
entitled, " A Declaration of the Reverend Father 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES, 243 

in God, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, condemning the untrue and slanderous 
Report of some, whc have reported that he said 
he should set up the Mass at Canterbury, at the 
first Coming of the Queen to her Reign. 1553." 

The Declaration is perfectly full, and may be 
read in Strype's "Memorials of Cranmer." He 
then challenges them to refute the doctrines that 
he, and four or five more, with Peter Martyr, 
vi^ould maintain in favor of the Reformation, 
proving that the doctrine and religion established 
by Edward the Sixth were more pure and con- 
formable, than any that had been known in Eng- 
land for the last ten centuries, and that it was es- 
sentially the same that had been used in the 
church for fifteen hundred years. 

This Declaration was purloined from him in 
some way or other, and pubhshed and distributed 
at large, which when he found to be the case, he 
boldly told them, " that it had been his intention 
to enlarge and correct the document, and to affix 
it, with his own hand and seal, on all the churches 
of London." 

This was at once decided to be a seditious bill. 
He was aware, that, from this time, no terms 
would be kept, and he immediately began to settle 
his worldly affairs. He scrupulously paid his 
debts, and, when he had made all his arrange- 
ments, said, " Thank God ! I am now my own 
man." 



244 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

The prisons began to be crowded with victims, 
and many urged Cranmer to escape to Germany. 
But this he refused for himself, though he urged 
others to do it, and wrote the following letter to 
a friend, Mrs. Wilkinson, persuading her to fly. 

^' The true comforter in all distress is only 
God, through his Son Jesus Christ. And who- 
soever hath him, hath company enough, although 
he were in a wilderness all alone. And he that 
hath twenty thousand in his company, if God be 
absent, is in a miserable wilderness and desolation. 
In him, is all comfort ; without him, is none. 
Wherefore, I beseech you, seek your dwelling 
there, whereas you may rightly and truly serve 
God, and dwell in him, and have him ever dwell- 
ing in you. What can be so heavy a burden as 
an unquiet conscience ? To be in such a place as 
cannot be suffered to serve God in Christ's reli- 
gion .'' If you be loth to depart from your kin 
and friends, remember that Christ calleth them 
his mother, sisters, and brothers, that do his Fa- 
ther's will. Where we find, therefore, God truly 
honored, according to his will, there we can lack 
neither friend nor kin. 

" If you be loth to depart for slandering God's 
Word, remember that Christ, when his hour was 
not yet come, departed out of his country into 
Samaria, to avoid the malice of the Scribes and 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 245 

Pharisees ; and commanded his apostles, that, if 
they were pursued in one place, they should fly 
to another. And was not Paul let down by a 
basket, out at a window, to avoid the persecu- 
tion of Aretus ? And after the same sort did 
the other apo'Stles. Albeit, when it came to such 
a point, that they could no longer escape danger 
of the persecutors of God's true religion, then 
they showed themselves, that their flying before 
came not of fear, but of godly wisdom, to do 
more good, and that they would not rashly, with- 
out urgent necessity, offer themselves to death ; 
which had been but a temptation of God. Yea, 
when they were apprehended, and could no longer 
avoid, then they stood boldly to the profession 
of Christ. Then they showed, how little they 
passed of death ; how much they feared God 
more than men ; how much they loved and pre- 
ferred the eternal life to come, above this short 
and miserable life. Wherefore, I exhort you, as 
well by Christ's commandment, as by the exam- 
ple of him and his apostles, to withdraw yourself 
from the malice of yours and God's enemies, into 
some place where God is most purely served ; 
which is no slandering of the truth, but a preserv- 
ing of yourself to God and the truth, and to the 
society and comfort of Christ's little flock ; and 
that you will do it with speed, lest, by your own 
folly, you fall into the persecutor's hands. And 



246 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

the Lord send his Holy Spirit to lead and guide 
you, wheresoever you go. And all that be godly 
will say, Amen." 

This letter is given at full length. It demon- 
strates the view the Archbishop took of the state 
of the realm, and the courage with which he 
made up his mind to remain, even unto death. 
He considered the situation he had held, and the 
active part he had taken in the Reformation, as 
calling for a different mode of conduct from that 
which he prescribed for others. "For," he said, 
" it would be no ways fitting for him to go away." 
Great numbers, however, fled, of all classes, to 
Strasburg, Wesel, Embden, Antwerp, Frank- 
fort, Basle, Zurich, Geneva, and other places. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES, 247 



^CHAPTER XVIII. 

"On the 13th of November, 1553, the first 
year of Mary's reign, Cranmer was attainted of 
high treason, with the Lady Jane and her hus- 
band." The Archbishop had been suffered thus 
long to remain at hberty. The Queen could not 
be wholly forgetful of the good offices he had 
done her with her father, in saving her from his 
anger ; and, perhaps, she had a secret hope he 
might be brought to compromise his rehgious 
principles with his deference for royalty and the 
laws of the land. She had but too much ground 
for this idea in his conduct during Henry's reign. 
But his open and violent declaration against the 
mass cut off" all hope of his connivance, and she 
determined to proceed to extremities. Cranmer 
had uniformly said, " next to God, was the King 
and laws of the realm ; " and he now proved his 
sincerity. 

The chief management of the kingdom was 
consigned to Gardiner, who was made Lord 
Chancellor. 

Cranmer, being divested of his Archbishopric, 



248 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

was condemned to prison, and led through the 
streets anaid the general grief of the spectators. 
Soon after, Latimer, Ridley, and Bradford, joined 
him. Latimer thus describes their situation ; 

'' Mr. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
Mr. Ridley, Bishop of London, that holy man, 
Mr. Bradford, and I, old Hugh Latimer, were 
imprisoned in the Tower of London for Christ's 
gospel-preaching, and because we would not go a 
massing. The same Tower being so full of pris- 
oners, we four were thrust into one chamber, as 
men not to be accounted of." Here these vener- 
able men passed their time jn reading and study- 
ing the Scriptures, and enlightening and confirm- 
ing each other's faith. 

Cranmer seems to have made all reasonable 
exertions to mollify the Queen. He sent a letter 
to her, suing for pardon, and acknowledging his 
fault in signing King Edward's will. It does not 
appear that any notice was taken of his letters. 

The Emperor of Spain had proposed to Mary, 
a marriage with his son Philip, and the Queen 
was thought to receive the proposal with com- 
placency. Gardiner was much opposed to this 
union. Indeed, both Protestants and Catholics 
reprobated a measure which would place a for- 
eigner and a despotic prince on the throne of Eng- 
land. The Commons made an address to the 
Queen, urging her to marry, but not to unite a 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 249 

foreign family to the kingdom, i3ut to choose a 
husband from her own realm. 

Mary suspected that Gardiner was the instigator 
of this address, and she at once took a solemn 
oath before the sacrament, that she pledged her 
faith to Philip of Spain, and would marry no other 
man. She then made a spirited reply to the ad- 
dress, saying, "that she thanked them for their 
expressions of loyalty ; but, inasmuch as they 
pretended to hmit her choice in a husband, she 
thanked them not. The marriages of her pre- 
decessors bad been free, and hers should be." 

This address at once changed the language of 
the Lords and Commons, and they promised her 
Phihp should be received with a hearty welcome. 

In the mean time, Mary signed a warrant for 
the execution of Jane Gray and her husband. 
It appeared, at first, that she had not designed 
this severity. She spoke of Jane as " her cous- 
in," and as " drawn into the snare laid for her " ; 
but she was urged to other measures by counsellors 
and the advice of the Emperor, as there had been 
an insurrection, and an attempt made to set the 
crown on Elizabeth's head. This, they assured 
her, had arisen from her great clemency towards 
Jane ; and she and her husband were condemned 
to die at the expiration of three days. 

Jane received this intelligence with apparently 
less sorrow than she had received the invitation 



250 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

to a throne. Feckman, one of Mary's priests, 
strove to convert her to the Catholic faith. She 
listened with patience, and rephed to all he said, 
fully acknowledging her sin in assuming the royal 
dignity, from persuasions to which she never ought 
to have yielded. We quote from an account of 
what passed between them. 

When Dr. Feckman went to see Jane, he 
found her with her Bible before her. 

" Z)r. Feckman. Madam, I lament your heavy 
case ; and yet, I doubt not, but that you bear out 
this sorrow of yours with a constant and patient 
mind. 

" Jane. You are welcome unto me. Sir, if 
your coming be to give Christian exhortation ; and, 
as for my heavy case, I thank God I do so little 
lament it, that rather I account the same for a 
more manifest declaration of God's favor towards 
me, than ever he showed me before. And there- 
fore there is no cause why either you, or other, 
which bear me good will, should lament or be 
grieved with this my case, being a thing so profit- 
able for my soul's health. 

"Dr. Feckman. I am here come to you at 
this present, sent from the Queen and her Coun- 
cil to instruct you in the true doctrine of the right 
faith ; although I have so great confidence in you, 
that I shall have, I trust, little need to travail with 
you much therein. 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 251 

^'Jane. Forsooth, I heartily thank the Queen's 
Highness, which is not unmindful of her humble 
subject ; and I hope, likewise, that you no less 
will do your duty therein, both truly and faithfully, 
according to that you were sent for." 

There is great dignity in this answer. A com- 
mon mind would have reverted to relationship 
with the Queen, and to their former intimacy ; 
but we see nothing of this in Jane. 

In the course of their conversation, Jane de- 
fines her belief. " To love our neighbour," she 
says, is " to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, 
and give drink to the thirsty, and to do to them as 
we would do to ourselves." 

After much conversation, in which the good 
Doctor accused her of "grounding her faith upon 
such authors as say and unsay, both with a breath, 
and not upon the Church, to whom she ought to 
give credit." 

Jane's answer is direct ; '' No ; I ground my 
faith on God's Word, and not upon the Church." 

After much reasoning. Dr. Feckman took his 
leave, saying, that he was sorry for her ; " for I 
am sure," said he, "that we two shall never 
meet again." 

Jane's reply is in accordance with his, and we 
regret that her faith did not admit of a more lib- 
eral one. " True it is," said she, " we shall 
never meet, unless God turn your heart. You are 



252 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

in an evil case ; and I pray God to send you his 
Holy Spirit ; for he hath given you his great gift 
of utterance, if it pleaseth him to open the eyes 
of your heart." 

Jane wrote a letter to her father, opening to 
him the state of her mind, in which she assures 
him, that "there can be nothing more w-elcome 
to her than to aspire to that heavenly throne of all 
joy and pleasure, with Christ our Saviour." She 
also wrote to her sister, and there are several 
prayers of hers recorded. Her husband was 
condemned to be beheaded on the scaffold at the 
same time ; but so much pity and sympathy were 
expressed, that it was not thought prudent, for 
fear of pubhc tumult. 

Her husband requested that he might take leave 
of her ; but this she declined, giving excellent 
reasons. She bade him a farewell from her win- 
dow, as he passed to the scaffold, where he met 
his fate with much Christian meekness. When 
his dead body, laid on a car, and his head, wrap- 
ped in a cloth, were carried by, she is said to have 
again looked upon the sad spectacle, — probably 
no longer sad to her, for in one short hour she be- 
lieved they were to be re-united never to part 
again. Notwithstanding he was of a much more 
worldly and ambitious nature than herself, there 
was a strong affection between them, and the dis- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 253 

sension that had arisen while she was Queen, had 
made her crown one of thorns. 

About an hour after his execution, she was 
standing on the scaffold, and Feckman again by 
her side. He renewed his discourse, which she 
did not appear much to heed, being deeply en- 
gaged with a book of prayers that she held in 
her hand. At length she saluted those who were 
present, with a composed countenance, and, turn- 
ing to Dr. Feckman, said, " God will abundantly 
requite you, Sir, for your humanity to me." She 
then addressed a few words to the spectators, 
gave her handkerchief and gloves to two female 
attendants, and to the lieutenant of the Tower her 
prayer-book. 

The executioner offered to assist her ifl pre- 
paring for the block ; but she declined his servi- 
ces. Her women tied a handkerchief over her 
eyes, and the executioner, kneeling, desired her 
pardon. " Most willingly," was her reply. " Lord 
Jesus, into thy hands I commend my spirit." 
One stroke severed her head from her body. 

In the following May, Philip arrived, to wed 
the Queen. He was met on the beach by a nu- 
merous retinue which the Queen had sent, and 
also a Spanish jennet richly caparisoned. He 
was invested with the order of the garter, and a 
royal salute was fired. He mounted the jennet 
with much grace and activity, and as he rode to the 



254 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

church, and afterwards to his lodgings, the people 
hailed with acclamations the future husband of 
their sovereign. His youth, the grace of his 
person, and his courteous manner, charmed the 
spectators. '' God save your Grace ! " was shout- 
ed on every side. He gave them continual assu- 
rances of his affection, and, Lingard says, in con- 
formity to the customs of England, drank fare- 
well to the company in a tankard of ale. 

Philip sent the Queen a present of jewels, 
valued at one hundred thousand crowns. The 
marriage was celebrated in the Cathedral Church 
at Winchester, with great splendor and magnifi- 
cence. The mass was said, and then Philip and 
Mary, hand in hand, left the church, and dined 
in public. 

This, and other events, had delayed the trial 
of the prisoners. On the 12th of September, 
1555, the Primate was summoned into the pres- 
ence of his accusers. The commission was held 
in St. Mary's Church, at Oxford. Let us now 
repair to the place with the numerous crowd of 
spectators, assembled to witness the arrival of 
Cranmer. Perhaps, among them all, he had not 
one personal enemy, and yet there were many 
who wished to find him guilty. There is a strange 
insensibihty in party feeling. It lives upon its 
victims, and even upright men become corrupted 
by it. Those are pronounced guilty who are in 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 255 

the opposite faction. During Edward's reign, 
the present judges were the offenders, and some 
of them were cast into prison. Now, we must see 
a new standard of justice erected. Yet, surely, 
those who look on at this remote period, may do 
it with impartial and candid minds ; they may di- 
vest themselves of prejudice, and Protestants and 
Catholics meet on the same common ground. 

In the month of October, previously to Cran- 
mer's last trial, Latimer and Ridley, who had 
been imprisoned with Cranmer, were tried at Ox- 
ford and condemned. They had taken their part 
in the disputation. The controversy ended as 
might have been expected, when all the power 
was on one side. 

Cranmer was first summoned. The matter 
seems to have been most disgracefully managed. 
He was carried back to prison as confuted. 

Ridley was next summoned. He came in the 
vigor of health, and with a spirit unsubdued, but 
met with the same treatment as Cranmer. He, 
likewise, was remanded to prison as confuted. 

Next came the venerable Latimer, broken 
down with age and infirmity, more truly Puritan- 
ical in his appearance and demeanor than most 
Protestants of the time. He usually carried his 
large Bible, with its huge clasps, fastened to his 
girdle. There was a remarkable simplicity in his 
countenance and manner. He begged of them 



256 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

''to spare him the disputation, said his memory 
was gone, that at all times he was poorly calcu- 
lated for argument, and that he was about as fit to 
dispute as to be made Captain of Calais." He 
said he was four score, and only now asked for a 
quiet end. 

This appeal, instead of softening the hearts of 
the court, strengthened them in the belief that he 
would gladly recant, especially when they saw his 
bodily debility, and that he could with difficulty 
remain standing. But they were mistaken. He 
continued firm to his professions. " I pray for 
the Queen daily," said he, '-'■ that she may turn ; 
but ye shall have no hope of me." 

We enter not into the details which followed. 
He was reviled and insulted, the simplicity of 
his character calling forth ridicule and abuse. 

It is not every one whose style of writing gives 
a perfect idea of his character. But Old Hugh 
Latimer's certainly does ; and, for this reason, 
we quote a few passages from his letters, taken 
from Fox. We wish we could give them in the 
hlack letter^ which is truly in keeping. 

" A fruitfull letter of Master Latimer, written 
to a certaine gentleman. 

'' Right Worshipfull, salutem in Domino. And 
now, Sir, I understand that you be in great ad- 
mirations at me, and take very grievously my 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 257 

manner of writing to you, adding thereunto, that 
you will not beare it at my hand, no, not if I were 
the best Bishop in England. Ah, Sir, I see well 
I may say as the common saying is, ' Well have 
I fished and ^caught a frog;' brought little to 
passe with much ado. You will not beare it with 
me, you say. Why, Sir, what will you doe with 
me ? You will not fight with me, I trowe. It 
may seem unseemly in a justice of the peace to 
be a breaker of the peace. I am glad the dot- 
ting times of my foolish youth is gone and past. 
What will you then doe with me in that you say 
you will not beare it at my hand. What hath my 
hand offended you in ? " 

The letter is a very long one, and may be read 
in Fox, as a curious specimen of the simplicity 
and godly sincerity of this man without guile. 

One other specimen we are tempted to give. 

" A letter sent to Mistresse Wilkinson,* of 
London, widow, from Master Hugh Latimer, out 
of Bocardo, in Oxford. 

" If the gift of a pot of cold water shall not 
be in oblivion with God, bow can God forget 
your manifold and bountiful gifts, when he shall 
say to you, ' I was in prison and you visited me.' 

*The same person to whom Cranmer wrote. 
17 



258 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

God grant us ail to doe and suffer while we be 
here, as may be to his will and pleasure. Amen. 
"Yours, in Bocardo, 

'' Hugh Latimer." 

A bold act of this worthy man is mentioned in 
King Henry's time, in sending the King a pres- 
ent. " There was then, and yet remaineth stil, 
an old customs, received from the old Roman- 
ces, that, upon New-Year's day, being the first day 
of January, every Bishop, with some handsome 
New Year's present, should gratifie the King ; 
and so they did, some with gold, some with a 
purse full of money, and some one thing, and 
some another ; but Master Hugh Latimer, being 
Bishop of Worcester, sent him, among the rest, 
a New Testament for his New Year's gift, wrap- 
ped up in a napkin, bearing this posie about it ; 
' Fornicatores et adulteros judicabit Dominus.'" 
It is rather surprising the posy did not cost him 
his head. 

To condemn the Archbishop, as he had held 
the highest place in the realm, required more for- 
mality. The Archbishop was in the hands of 
Cardinal Pole, who had come over under Mary's 
reign, and resided in the palace at Lambeth. 

Ridley and Latimer were brought forth to the 
stake, and passed by Cranmer's prison. He 
looked after them, and prayed fervently that their 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 259 

faith and patience might be strengthened to the 
last. 

Previously to this period, there had been many- 
victims to Popish cruelty. Rogers, Hooper, 
Taylor, and'' many more distinguished men, had, 
during the three years of Mary's reign, suffered 
at the stake. Those who have any taste for this 
sort of reading, may find it amply set out in 
Fox's '' Martyrology." But let them not read 
wholly one side ; let them turn to the victims of 
reform, and grow mild and charitable, banishing 
the unjust and tyrannical exactions of party feel- 
ing, and allowing to every man the right of opin- 
ion. The law passed during the reign of Ed- 
ward, that persons should be pubhcly whipped 
who did not pronounce Greek in a certain way, 
shows the spirit of the times. 

Cranmer had been summoned to appear before 
the Pope at Rome ; but this was a mockery, as 
he was in close confinement. The dignity of 
the Archbishop's office rendered it necessary that 
the authority for proceeding against him should 
issue from the Pontiff; and this authority was 
now obtained. 

Cardinal de Puteo was appointed by the Pope, 
as chief judge or commissioner. He was seated 
on a stage erected near the high altar, men in 
power on each side, and a crowd of learned men 



260 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

in ranks below. A profound stillness reigned 
after the summons was pronounced. 

" Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, appear 
here and make answer for the charges of blasphe- 
my, incontinence, and heresy to the Bishop of 
Gloucester, representing the person of the Pope." 
The Archbishop was then brought forward, and 
stood in front of the assembly, so that all might 
see him. He was habited in a black gown, with 
his doctor's hood upon his shoulders, and a cap 
upon his head. 

Even at this trying moment, Cranmer's deport- 
ment was consistent with his high ideas of royalty. 
To the royal commissioners he took off his cap 
successively to each, bowing low. Then, turn- 
ing to the representative of the Pope, he placed 
his cap on his head, and stood respectfully wait- 
ing. 

The Bishop demanded the usual signs of rev- 
erence, and sternly rebuked him. 

Cranmer rephed, that he had solemnly sworn 
never to recognise the papal authority in England ; 
that to officers of the crown, and to the Bishop 
of Gloucester, had he been one of them, he 
would most willingly have paid all deference, and 
that he had no want of personal respect to the 
noble lord. 

It is not our intention to go into the details of 
this long trial of Cranmer. It may be found at 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 261 

full length in the "British State Trials," Vol. I., 
and a general and able view of the whole in Le 
Bas's "Life of Cranmer." Bishop Bonner's 
oration agaipst him is a curious specimen of vul- 
gar vehemence. " This is the man that hath 
ever despised the Pope's Holiness, and is now to 
be judged by him. This is the man who hath 
pulled down so many churches, and now is judged 
in a church. This is the man that hath con- 
demned the blessed sacrament of the altar, and 
now is condemned before that blessed sacrament 
hanging over the altar. This is the man, that, 
like Lucifer, sat in the place of Christ upon an 
altar to judge another, and now is come before 
an altar to be judged himself." When he first 
began, " This is the man," his oratory command- 
ed great attention among the audience, which he, 
probably perceiving, with his usual want of tact, 
rung upon it, till it became not only tedious, but 
ludicrous, beginning every sentence, " This is 
the man." He was so abusive, that he was final- 
ly requested by his own party to stop. 

Cranmer's address, in some respects, reminds 
us of Luther's, and nearly the same reply was 
made to him by some of the commissioners as 
that made to the German reformer before the diet 
at Worms ; " W^e come to examine you ; and 
you, methinks, examine us." 

After these preliminaries, they proceeded to 



262 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

degrade the Archbishop. This was necessarily 
done by Thomas Thirlby, Bishop of Ely. He 
was an old friend, and was greatly affected at do- 
ing it, shedding many tears, "so that Cranmer, 
moved at his grief, was fain to comfort him, and 
told him he was well contented with it. So they 
apparelled Cranmer in all the garments and orna- 
ments of an Archbishop, only in mockery ; every 
thing was of canvass and old rags. And the 
crosier was put into his hands, and then he was 
piece by piece, stripped of all again. When they 
began to take away his pal (or scarf), he asked, 
' which of them had a pal to take away his pal ? ' 
They then answered, acknowledging ' they were 
his inferiors as bishops, but as they were the 
Pope's delegates, they might take away his pal.' 
While they were thus spoiling him of his gar- 
ments, he told them, ' that it needed not ; for 
that he had done with this gear long ago.' " 

It was while this was doing, that Bonner made 
his triumphant speech against Cranmer ; " This 
is the man," &c. When they attempted to take 
his crosier, he resisted till he had drawn a written 
appeal from his sleeve to a general council. He 
afterwards said, he remembered Luther did the 
same. 

Thirlby, after some debate, received this ap- 
peal, and said he would endeavour to get it ad- 
mitted. "And so, after this interruption, they 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 263 

proceeded to degrade him, taking- off the rest of 
his habits, and then put him on a poor yeoman 
beadle's gown, threadbare, and a townsman's cap. 
And Bonne/ told him, he was no lord any more ; 
and so he was sent to prison." 

To the above insulting ceremony, other indig- 
nities were added. His hair was cut close to his 
head, and his fingers scraped by Bonner, to signi- 
fy that the holy oil was removed, with which they 
had been anointed. 

Cranmer, after his return to prison, thought 
proper to write to the Queen, and give her a true 
account of all these transactions, appeahng to her 
as her natural subject, and asserting his right to be 
judged by the laws of her kingdom, and not by 
strangers. The letter entered into a full state- 
ment of his opinions, and his reasons for his con- 
duct. 

The Queen received the letter, and gave it to 
Cardinal Pole to answer; whose reply is inserted 
in Strype's Appendix to his " Memorials of 
Cranmer." 

It may be well to mention here the sudden 
death of Gardiner, who has been so conspicuous 
through almost the whole of our history. Fox 
says, it took place just " one month after the 
burning of Dr. Ridley and Master Latimer." 
He then goes on to give his life and character. 
" First, this viper's bird crept out of the towne 



264 CRANMER AWD HIS TIMES. 

of Bery, in Suffolk, and was brought up most 
part of his youth in Cambridge," &c. &c. But 
it is unnecessary to enter into any dehneation of 
the character of Gardiner. He undoubtedly 
shares the fate of those of his time, of having 
both his virtues and his vices exaggerated. He 
has been accused of an unrelenting persecution 
towards the Protestants. Others say, that he 
only meant, by a few examples, to strike terror 
into the remainder, and was glad to devolve the 
invidious office on Bonner. We can conceive 
no greater cruelty than this, if he knew the savage 
character of that man. 

Cranmer, alone in his prison, felt a desolation 
he had never known before. No mention is made 
of his wife and children during these distressing 
circumstances. Probably he had thought it most 
prudent to send them to Germany ; at least, it 
was so believed. To a man broken down by im- 
prisonment and cruelty, and with the sad contem- 
plation of his fellow-sufferers, who had already 
been summoned to the stake, solitude must have 
been grievous. How many find renewed strength 
and courage in the sympathy of friends. Cran- 
mer had none. No one of his own faith was suf- 
fered to approach him, and, from those who were 
permitted to converse with him, he heard only 
details of the horrible sufferings of the martyrs. 
His whole hfe discovers the yieldingness of his 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 265 

nature. When he resisted what he thought iniqui- 
tous, it was, no doubt, the highest effort of moral 
courage. We have before adverted to courage 
as a naturai, rather than an acquired gift. It is 
a beautiful and noble endowment, when united 
with gentleness and justice ; but, like external 
advantages of beauty or elegance, is often denied 
to a mortal. Would that the Archbishop might 
have been spared any further struggle ! that he 
might have been executed with Ridley and Lati- 
mer ! 

From the degradation which they had endeav- 
oured to heap upon Cranmer, his enemies now 
changed their measures to an opposite course. 
They felt that their purpose, so far from being 
accomplished, was, in a manner, defeated. Hith- 
erto, the triumph was his, not theirs. 

They once more threw open his prison-doors, 
and invited him to come forth under the broad 
canopy of heaven. Again he breathes the pure 
and fresh air, and feels his spirits quickened by 
the natural world. What a change, from the 
darkness and gloom of his confinement ! He 
was invited to reside with the Dean of Christ's 
Church, and parties at bowls were made for him, 
an exercise of which they knew him to be fond. 
The doctors of the University visited him, and 
sometimes accosted him with arguments and dis- 
putations, and sometimes with flatteries and prom- 



266 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

ises. They assured him, that, by only setting his 
name to a piece of paper, he might enjoy his for- 
mer dignities and honors. They represented the 
yearning of Mary towards him, her recollections 
of his good offices, her wilhngness to save him, 
if this could be done without compromising her 
own professions of CathoHc faith ; but she said 
she " would have Cranmer a Catholic, or no 
Cranmer." But why do we go on. All this, in 
a healthy and firm state of mind, would have pro- 
duced no effect. But he was terrified, bewil- 
dered, and subdued. The paper was presented 
to him, and a' pen put in his hand. It matters, 
little whether he read it or not ; with a trembling 
hand he wrote his name in the presence of two 
Spanish friars, John and Richard. Five other 
separate recantations are alleged against him. 
For the reasonings and mystery on the subject, 
we recommend the Appendix to Le Bas's " Life 
of Cranmer." One reflection must naturally oc- 
cur ; if he signed the first, with the full and entire 
knowledge of its contents, why should they re- 
quire five more, and the last be much the least 
explicit. 

Lingard speaks of seven recantations signed with 
his name. Yet the whole of this transaction was 
in the space of two days. We may suppose him 
under a degree of mental alienation, brought on 
by want of firmness and resolution. Or, we may 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 267 

conclude with the Cathohcs, that the recantation 
was occasioned by the fear of an agonizing death. 
To us it naatters Httle. Jt was extorted from 
him by that kind of force, which induces a victim 
to lay his head voluntarily upon the block, when 
brought to the place of execution. 

It appears that his life had been prolonged only 
to secure the recantation. The Queen immedi- 
ately gave orders for a sermon to be prepared for 
his burning. This haste seems to be a strong 
proof, that they doubted their power, and feared 
for his constancy in his newly adopted faith. 

Saturday, the 21st of March, 1556, was the 
day appointed for his death. Many had assem- 
bled at Oxford to witness the burning of the re- 
claimed heretic. The morning, however, proved 
very rainy, and he was therefore conducted first 
to Saint Mary's Church, instead of being carried 
immediately to the stake. Crowds had already 
assembled there, to hear him attest whh his last 
breath, the truth of the Catholic rehgion. There 
was a solemn and impatient expectation. 

Cranmer entered with the Mayor and Alder- 
men, and many other gentlemen. A stage was 
erected for him opposite the pulpit, that all the 
people might see him. In vain he looked around 
for friends and adherents ; those who had loved 
and honored him for the noble stand he had taken 
in the Reformation, were weeping for his fall in 



268 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

places ot retirement, and mourning for the dis- 
grace brought on their cause. 

Cranmer stood with his eyes cast down, and his 
venerable form erect. His head was bald, and 
his long white beard had been suffered to grow. 
His figure was truly apostoHc, and well might the 
Romanists exult in such a convert. We rejoice 
that his wife, his loving Anne, was far away ; for, 
however distressing her suspense, the spectacle 
of his present degradation must have surpassed 
her conjectures. She, whose faith had been first 
kindled by the German reformers, who remem- 
bered Luther and Justus Jonas, and had been the 
hostess of Martin Bucer, the guest of her hus- 
band; — she, who exulted in the thought, that the 
glorious Reformation, begun in her oicn native 
Germany, had been continued and had triumphed 
in England through her own husband, — she might, 
in her dreams, have beheld him brought to the 
stake, and seen the flames curling round him ; but 
no fears of his constancy or courage mingled with 
the sad vision. Seldom do women analyze the 
characters of those they love and trust. The 
very gentleness and yielding spirit of Cranmer, 
so consonant with the tenderness of domestic life, 
and, in better times, so becoming a minister of 
Christ, had attached her the more deeply. It is 
far easier to yield, than to contend. 

We wish to be the biographer, not the apolo- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES, 269 

gist of the Archbishop ; and we see, in his naild, 
amiable, and Christian-like character, a weakness 
of resolution^ that led him into error. His first 
purposes were almost invariably correct, but op- 
position and persuasion led him to change them. 
This we see too often in every-day life, and we 
are apt to attribute a degree of virtue, especially 
in the female character, to this yielding disposi- 
tion. The consequence is, that, when such char- 
acters occasionally make a desperate stand, their 
weapon is obstinacy ; they dare not trust to the 
rational convictions of their own minds. 

We have seen Cranmer resolutely opposing 
the arbitrary will of Henry, in the bill of the six 
articles, and in the appropriation of Catholic 
spoils ; and here his cause was a noble one. 
We have seen him yielding to the persuasions of 
Counsellors and Doctors, in the case of Lady 
Jane Gray, when his convictions were wholly 
against their arguments, and it was weakness to 
yield. And we have seen him obstinate in con- 
demning the miserable Jane Bocher to the stake, 
and resisting the mild and humane opposition of 
Edward, and, as we fully believe, the pleadings 
of his own heart. 

How much we may do to obviate this weak- 
ness and infirmity of character, it is difficult to de- 
cide ; and it becomes us to be mild and charhable 
towards others, and to leave the decision, where it 



270 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

must eventually rest, with Him who judgeth the 
heart. 

But we must return to the Archbishop. He 
stood immovable for a short time ; at length his 
tears could no longer be restrained, and, turning 
to a pillar adjoining, as if to hide emotions in 
which there was no human being present to sym- 
pathize, he knelt down, lifting his hands and eyes 
to heaven, and prayed fervently. 

When he arose. Dr. Cole, who had been ap- 
pointed by the Queen, began his sermon. He 
first declared, why it was expedient that Cran- 
mer should suffer at the stake, recurring to his 
agency in the divorce of Henry and Catharine, 
but alleged that he did not believe it was done in 
malice. Another cause was, his being the setter 
forth of heresy in the kingdom, &c. He then 
went on to inform the audience, '' how they 
should consider this thing, and take example to 
fear God, as they saw there was no power could 
stand against the Lord ; having before their eyes 
a man of so high degree, sometime one of the 
chiefest prelates of the church, an Archbishop, 
the head of the Council, the second Peer of the 
realm a long time, a man who might be thought 
in greatest assurance, a king of his side ; not- 
withstanding all his authority and defence to be 
debased from an high estate to a low degree ; 
from a Counsellor to be a caitiff ; and to be set in 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 271 

SO wretched estate, that the poorest wretch would 
not change conditions with him." He then ad- 
dressed Cranmer, whom he encouraged " to take 
his death well, by many passages in Scripture, 
such as the thief to whom Christ said, ' This day 
shalt thou be with me in Paradise ' ; by the exam- 
ple of the three children, to whom God made 
the flame seem like a pleasant dew. He spoke 
of the rejoicing of St. Andrew, of the patience of 
St. Lawrence on the fire. He glorified much in 
his conversion, because it was evidently the work 
of God. He told him he should be prayed for 
in every church in Oxford, and have mass said, 
and dirges sung, for his soul." When he ended, 
he desired all the people to pray for him. They 
all knelt, and Cranmer with them. 

What must have been the sensations of Cran- 
mer through this heart-rending address ! They 
were visible in his countenance, which, a specta- 
tor says, " was sorrowful and heavy, his face be- 
dewed with tears, which all present beheved to 
be those of contrition for his past offences to the 
Cathohc Church." 

When the people rose, Cranmer rose too, and 
said he thanked them most heartily for their 
prayers, and then requested leave to pray for 
himself, which he did most fervently, imploring 
the mercy of God. He concluded by repeating 
the Lord's Prayer. Then, rising, he said, " Ev- 



272 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

ery man desireth good people at the time of their 
deaths to give some exhortation, that others may 
remember after their deaths, and be better thereby. 
So I beseech God grant me grace, that I may 
speak something at my departing, whereby God 
may be glorified, and you edified. He then pi- 
ously admonished them not to lay too much stress 
on the honors or riches of the world, and repre- 
sented the wants and sufferings of the poor, pro- 
visions being so dear. " For, though I have 
been long in prison, yet I have heard of the 
great penury of the poor. Consider that which 
is given to the poor, as given to God." He then 
expressed his creed. 

Still, there was nothing to startle the audience, 
who waited impatiently for him to openly repeat 
his recantation. He paused. Not a sound could 
be heard ; every eye was fixed upon him, either 
in hope or exultation. His tears flowed anew. 

" And now I come," he continued, " to the 
great thing that troubleth my conscience more 
than any other thing that I ever said or did through 
life. And that is, setting abroad of writings, 
contrary to the truth ; which here I renounce and 
refuse, as things written with my hand, contrary 
to the truth ; which I wrote for fear of death and 
to save my life, if it might be. And that is, all 
such bills, which I have written or signed with 
mine own hand, since my degradation ; wherein 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 273 

I have written many things untrue. And, foras- 
much as my hand offended in writing, contrary to 
my heart, therefore, my hand shall first be pun- 
ished. For, if I may come to the fire, it shall be 
first burned. And as for the Pope, I refuse him, 
as Christ's enemy and Antichrist, with all his false 
doctrine." 

We may suppose the astonishment and con- 
sternation which prevailed, as soon as their 
tongues were loosed. They charged him with 
dissembling. " Alas, my Lords," said he, " I 
have all my life been a man that loved plainness, 
and never dissembled till now against the truth, 
which I am most sorry for." 

He might have gone on, for he now appeared 
like a new man : the brightness of his eye re- 
turned, the faint color rose to his pale cheek, the 
tears no longer fell. It seemed as if the load was 
taken from his heart. The inner man triumphed. 

Again he attempted to speak, but the zealous 
friars rushed forward, and tore him from the stage. 
As they conducted him to the stake, the populace 
ran after him, exhorting him, " while time was, to 
remember himself." He walked silently on, and, 
when he arrived at the stake, his face seemed ra- 
diant with faith and hope. There were no symp-^ 
toms of the irresolution that had marked his char- 
acter. They saw, that, to urge the recantation 
again, was hopeless, and the friars said in Latin, 
18 



274 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

one to another, "Let us go from him ; we ought 
not to be near him, for the Devil is with him." 

He proceeded to divest himself of his outer 
garments, leaving only his shirt, which was long, 
reaching to his feet. He then offered his hand to 
those who stood near. One again cried to him, 
to agree to his former recantation. " This," said 
Cranmer, " is the hand that wrote it ; and, there- 
fore, it shall first suffer punishment." 

The faggots were placed around him, and fire 
set to them. As it crackled and arose, the wind 
blew it on one side. With a calm, fervent aspect, 
his face appeared lighted by the flames, as that 
of Moses is described upon the mount. He 
stretched forth his hand. " This is the hand that 
offended," said he ; and, deliberately placing it in 
the flames, stood unmoved, uttering no groan, and 
not discovering by his countenance any sensibility 
to pain. The flames kindled round him. More 
than once he was heard to say, " Lord Jesus, 
receive my soul ! " 

We know that Cranmer has been severely 
judged by his fellow-men for his recantations, 
while the most candid have thought they gained 
something by endeavouring to prove, that he wrote 
but one, and that the others were forged. It is 
not surprising that Catholics should triumph in his 
weakness, and exclaim, " This is the man," &c. 
But shall toe refuse him our sympathy at this try- 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 275 

ing time, when, probably, the recollection, that he 
had been instrumental to a similar death in others, 
wrought his frame to agony. Who does not feel, 
that love of life is one of the strongest principles 
of our nature ; and who does not shrink from 
death, even under the most alleviating circum- 
stances ? Surrounded by an affectionate house- 
hold, the hand fast locked in the hand of a friend, 
and the soul borne upwards on the wings of fer- 
vent and devout prayer, yet, there is still a fear- 
ful looking forward to the final moment, to the 
last death-struggle. But, when the soul is to be 
separated from the body by lingering torments, is 
it strange that the inward man should faint and 
perish in the conflict ? 

There have been men, nay, women, too, so 
constituted, that they have sung ''hosannas of 
glad joy," while the flames were curling round 
them. Others have yielded, for a time, to the 
insanity of terror, and, under its influence, felt 
that exemption from torture could hardly be ob- 
tained too dearly. 

Jerome of Prague, one of the most zealous 
of the early reformers, rushed into danger to save 
his friend, John Huss. Finding he came too 
late, that the sentence had been pronounced and 
executed, and his ashes thrown into the Rhine, 
he felt himself compelled by prudence to return 
to Bohemia. On the road, he was arrested and 



276 CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 

sent back to Constance. " At his first appear- 
ance, a thousand voices exclaimed ; ' Away with 
him ! Burn him, burn him ! ' Consigned to the 
horrors of a lonely and protracted imprisonment, 
in a noxious dungeon," he yielded to that weak- 
ness, which springs from nervous distress, and 
made a temporary submission. But, when re- 
stored to the light and air of heaven, his spirit 
grew strong, his feverish and fluttering pulse re- 
sumed its calm and regular movement, the insani- 
ty passed away, his faith and fortitude returned, 
and, like his friend Huss, he died a martyr and a 
hero. 

Let us remember the agony of him, who, in 
the garden, prayed that, " if it were possible, the 
cup might pass from him " ; and, amidst these 
sunny days, when we may go in glad throngs to the 
house of God, when we are not called to "weep 
by the rivers of Babylon," or "hang our harps 
upon the willows," let us try to place ourselves, 
for a moment, in the situation of Cranmer. Who 
will not tremble for his own fortitude ? who will 
not fear, that, like Peter, he may deny and weep ? 
Let not the weakness of human nature destroy 
our sympathies, but, rather, prove a bond to 
bind usj who share it, closer to each other ; to 
make us more charitable, more patient, and more 
ready to forgive. So shall the old world and 
the new, CathoHcs and Protestants, find one 



CRANMER AND HIS TIMES. 277 

common bond pf relationship ; and, while they 
conscientiously adhere to what they believe to 
be the true faith, remember, that there is but 
one God, and one Father over all. 



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